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Restorative justice puts gender violence victims at further risk: Study
More than half of surveyed gender-based violence victims report that they are unsatisfied by the law enforcers' application of restorative justice, a recent Komnas Perempuan study has found.
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Students ofJenderal Soedirman University (Unsoed) in Purwokerto, Central Java, rally on June 16, 2023 to demand the rector immediately address cases of sexual violence against students that reportedly happened on campus. (Antara/Idhad Zakaria)
W
hile the government has been pushing for the application of restorative justice to reduce judicial costs and prison overcrowding, its implementation in Indonesia often fails to provide victims of gender-based violence with a sense of justice and protection from further harm, a recent study has revealed.
Restorative justice refers to an out-of-court approach, which focuses on perpetrators, victims and other members of the community meeting to seek a resolution that fosters healing, reparation and reintegration, while also preventing future harm.
In such meetings, the perpetrator expresses remorse for the harm caused and the group responds by agreeing actions the offender can take to repair the harm. In Indonesia, such a process often involves the police, prosecutors and traditional institutions.
In theory, such an approach can benefit victims of gender-based violence, as it considers the needs and interests of victims after the harm is done, unlike the conventional criminal system.
But a recent issued study by the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) found that more than half, 57 percent, of victims were not satisfied with the restorative justice applied in their cases. Only a quarter of all victims surveyed felt “recovered or healed” from the violence they experienced after undergoing the restorative justice process.
The study, conducted from August 2022 to September this year, involved nearly 450 respondents in nine provinces, including police officers, prosecutors, social workers, activists and victims of gender-based violence.
Several victims also said that they were specifically unsatisfied with the methods used by police officers handling their cases.
