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Activists slam latest draft of sexual violence bill for neglecting victims' rights
The sexual violence eradication bill (RUU PKS) has faced another setback in its nearly decade-long drafting process as the bill's latest watered-down version drew the ire of activists, particular over its failure to address victims' rights.
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Mannequins are placed outside the Senayan legislative compound in Central Jakarta on Dec. 8, 2020 in a lobbying campaign pushing for the passage of the sexual violence eradication bill. (JP/Wendra Ajistyatama)
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he latest draft of the sexual violence eradication bill (RUU PKS) has been met with criticism from activists, who said that the proposed changes in the new draft did not adequately protect the rights of victims of sexual violence.
The changes, proposed last week by the House of Representatives Legislation Body (Baleg), mark yet another chapter in the long-awaited bill, which has been on and off the table at the House since the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) lobbied the lawmakers to pass the bill in 2012.
The House, however, only took it seriously in 2016 after it included the bill in its National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) priority list in 2016, but the bill's deliberation process has been marked with delays.
Among the changes made by the Baleg expert team tasked with drafting the bill’s latest iteration was renaming it the “sexual violence crime” bill. Team member Sabari Barus said the team proposed the name change because the word eradication was “abstract”.
The new draft bill, a copy of which The Jakarta Post obtained, contains 11 chapters and 43 articles. Aside from the name change, the latest draft also removed 85 provisions and two sections on the bill’s regulatory scope and upholding victims’ rights.
The latest draft also narrowed the types of sexual violence that could be prosecuted to sexual harassment, forced contraception and sexual exploitation. It also covered “forced sexual relations”, a euphemism for rape that was included in the previous draft and which activists said would only diminish rape as a criminal act.
Naila Rizqi Zakiah, a spokeswoman for the Civil Society Coalition Against Sexual Violence (KOMPAKS), said the new draft bill focused only on punishing sexual offenders without emphasizing protection for victims.
