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'If we ratified the convention, Nuril would be considered a victim'
Laws in Indonesia have yet to fully accommodate various forms of sexual violence, including verbal harassment.
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Justice in the balance: Protesters gather in Palembang, South Sumatra, o in support of Baiq Nuril Makmun, a school teacher from Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, who was found guilty for defaming her alleged harasser. (Antara/Feny Selly)
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ctivists have renewed calls on the government to ratify an International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention concerning the elimination of violence and harassment in the workplace, after the Supreme Court rejected a case review petition filed by Baiq Nuril Makmun, who was punished for defaming her alleged abuser.
Nuril was convicted on defamation charges for speaking up against her alleged harasser—her supervisor--and is on course to serving six months behind bars and paying a fine of Rp 500 million (US$34,650). She has written a public letter, pleading for amnesty from President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo. Meanwhile, the perpetrator remains free as the sexual harassment case that she filed against him has been ignored.
"If she is still going to prison, then her experience of [being a victim of] sexual violence will forever be ignored, and the workplace could become a vulnerable place of violence," Mutiara Ika Pratiwi of Perempuan Mahardhika, a human rights organization, said during a press briefing at Foundation of the Indonesian Legal Aid Institute (YLBHI) in Central Jakarta on Saturday.
“ILO Convention 190 would be really helpful in efforts for the government and labor unions to realize a safe workplace environment free from threats of sexual violence,” she added.
Mutiara pointed out that prevailing laws had yet to fully accommodate various forms of sexual violence, including verbal harassment.
"Verbal harassment cannot be considered violence in the eyes of the law, it thus resulted in Nuril's proof [of verbal harassment] being held against her in the court," she said.
Speaking in the same briefing, Vivi Widyawati, another activist from Perempuan Mahardhika, said the convention could be used as a reference in policy-making, not only because the country was a member of the ILO but also because the convention contained a clear definition of various forms of violence and discrimination that could be applied in various sectors, including private and public spaces.
