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Criminal Code revisions to rape, forced abortion fall short, activists say
Rights groups bemoan the insufficient protection afforded to women in the revision of the Criminal Code, which the government has promised to strengthen after the newly enacted Sexual Violence Law watered down points on coerced abortion and rape.
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Indonesian law allows abortions for rape victims and as a life-saving measure. (Shutterstock/File)
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ights groups bemoan the insufficient protection afforded to women in the revision of the Criminal Code, which the government has promised to strengthen after the newly enacted Sexual Violence Law watered down points on coerced abortion and rape.
Lawmakers last week agreed to changes regarding rape as a crime and abortion in the Criminal Code bill that were proposed by the government. But the bill fails to include coerced abortion, and the expanded definitions of rape are still seen as not enough to cover the broad spectrum of such crimes.
Women's groups have been anticipating the inclusion of provisions on coerced abortion and rape after failing to push the House of Representatives to include it in the Sexual Violence Law passed in April. The House at the time decided to exclude them from the bill after the government's insistence, as Law and Human Rights Deputy Minister Edward OS Hiariej promised these points would be stipulated in the revision of the Criminal Code, which is expected to be passed this month.
The new Criminal Code bill maintains that abortion is a crime, but it now allows exceptions for rape survivors, provided that the fetus is less than 12 weeks old, and for women with life-threatening medical conditions. These changes are to make abortion rules more in line with what is already regulated in the 2004 Medical Practice Law.
As for provisions on rape as a crime, it has now been extended to include marital rape, statutory rape and the rape of someone with intellectual disabilities.
Read also: Policymakers try to soften draconian provisions in Criminal Code bill
Ratna Batara Munti of the Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women's Association for Justice (LBH APIK) said there was no significant change in the proposed rules because they did not explicitly regulate coerced abortion as a form of sexual violence.
