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Ruling affirms support for women in ending sexual violence on campus
The Supreme Court has rejected a petition to revoke provisions on consent in a progressive regulation for on-campus sexual violence, much to the relief of those who have been fighting to end violence against women.
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People march to mark International Women's Day in Yogyakarta on March 8, 2020, promoting the fight against sexual violence. (JP/Bambang Muryanto)
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he Supreme Court has rejected a petition to revoke provisions on consent in a progressive regulation for on-campus sexual violence by the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry, much to the relief of those who have been fighting to end violence against women.
The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), a state-sanctioned independent body and one of the entities that filed amicus briefs in support of the ministry, said the ruling was a manifestation of the court’s support for women in higher education institutions.
“The ruling seems to affirm that sexual violence is a result of unequal power relations,” commissioner Andy Yentriyani told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
She said that such an affirmation would also support the implementation of the new sexual violence law, passed in mid-April after nearly a decade of languishing in the House of Representatives.
The court ruled last Thursday to reject the petition filed in early March by the Minangkabau Customary Institution (LKAAM), a West Sumatra administration-sanctioned organization that protects the local culture. The petitioner sought to revoke provisions containing the phrase “without the victim’s consent" in the regulation that was signed last year by Education, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim, arguing that it could imply the legalization of extramarital sex.
Read also: Ministerial decree against sexual violence faces pushback from Islamic groups
Nadiem’s decision was widely seen by civil groups as setting the benchmark for how sexual violence should be fought at a time when Indonesia had yet to pass the sexual violence law.
