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Regulation against campus sexual violence faces backlash
Education minister tells rectors he wants ‘action’ against abusers
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ducation, Culture, Research and Technology Minister Nadiem Makarim has found himself in the spotlight after signing a ministerial regulation aimed at addressing sexual violence in universities that has been rejected by some conservative Muslim groups, which have argued it contravenes religious norms in the country.
The regulation, signed on Aug. 31 but not published until October, was issued to address sexual violence in the country’s higher education institutions, which Nadiem said was one of the three “great sins” – the other two being intolerance and bullying – in the national education system that he wanted to abolish.
It is also the second regulation issued by Nadiem to have met pushback from conservative groups. In February, he initiated the issuance of a joint ministerial decree banning public schools from making hijabs mandatory for non-Muslim students, which was later revoked by the Supreme Court following a petition from religious group.
The newly published regulation provides a wider definition of sexual violence, which includes verbal, physical and nonphysical sexual assault, as well as assault through information and communication technology. It also introduces an array of punishments for perpetrators of sexual violence in universities, including dismissal or expulsion of the perpetrators.
Students have welcomed the regulation, which they say is a “big step” in the fight against sexual violence in the country’s universities, and hope that it will be followed up by the passing of the sexual violence eradication bill.
Read also: 'Big step': Students, lecturers laud decree to fight sexual violence on campuses
Some Muslim groups, however, were quick to criticize the regulation, which they interpret as a legal basis to justify extramarital sex in the country’s higher education institutions.
Muhammadiyah, Indonesia’s second-largest Muslim organization, pointed out that some definitions of sexual violence in the regulation, which specifically contain the phrase “without the victim’s consent”, essentially legalizes extramarital sex.
“Article 5 [of the regulation] could be interpreted as legalizing immoral acts and free sex based on consent,” said the head of Muhammadiyah’s research and development council, Lincolin Arsyad, on Monday as reported by kompas.com.
The Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) has called on the government to evaluate the regulation, saying that its contents should be in line with sharia principles, the state ideology Pancasila and the 1945 Constitution, tribunnews.com reported on Thursday.
Politicians from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) have also been vocal against the regulation for similar reasons and urged the government to revoke the regulation as they believe it goes against religious norms in the country.
Speaking in weekly talk show Mata Najwa on Wednesday evening, Nadiem said he was “surprised” by the views that interpreted the regulation as an attempt to legalize adultery.
“[Legalizing adultery] is completely beyond the purview of this regulation,” said Nadiem.
He went on to say that he wanted to transform the overall paradigm in universities regarding cases of sexual violence.
“We want to change the paradigm in universities, which used to bury [sexual assault] cases in order to maintain the universities’ reputation. I have gathered all rectors and told them that I want to see action, that there are sanctions to be implemented [against sexual violence perpetrators],” Nadiem said.
Meanwhile, Religious Affairs Minister Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, who was a leader of Nahdlatul Ulama’s (NU) youth wing GP Ansor, backed the policy issued by his fellow Cabinet member, with the ministry instructing state religious universities to implement the regulation.
“With this regulation, we hope that the victims can speak up and sexual violence in the education sector can be stopped,” Yaqut said in a statement on Tuesday. “We must not turn a blind eye. Sexual violence is common in the education [sector] and we do not want this to continue.”
Dian Novita from the Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women’s Association for Justice (LBH APIK) said she regretted the pushback against the ministerial regulation, the arguments for which she said lacked victim-centered perspectives, adding that similar arguments had also been raised against the passage of long-awaited sexual violence eradication bill.
“Regarding concerns about legalizing adultery, this is actually similar to the arguments against the sexual violence bill,” said Dian. “In fact, we cannot automatically assume that the term ‘without consent’ [in the regulation] automatically legalizes adultery or extramarital sex.”
She added that the regulation was a step forward in providing justice for victims of sexual violence in universities, who would often find their case purposely hidden away from the public eye by their universities, and hoped that it would encourage universities to provide better protections for the victims of sexual violence.
