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House makes progress on sexual violence bill
The House of Representatives Legislative Body (Baleg), which spearheaded the working committee discussing a list of proposed changes to the bill submitted by the government, is fast-tracking deliberations after they languished for nearly a decade.
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ndonesia has moved a step closer to enacting sexual violence law as lawmakers and government officials completed deliberations on the bill at the working committee level on Monday. Much to the relief of women’s groups, it contains progressive provisions that expand on the definition of sexual violence.
The House of Representatives Legislative Body (Baleg), which spearheaded the working committee discussing a list of proposed changes to the bill submitted by the government, is fast-tracking deliberations after they languished for nearly a decade.
The committee hosted a week-long series of meetings, which also involved women's groups and the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan).
Nine forms of sexual violence
The committee agreed to include nine forms of sexual violence in the bill: physical and nonphysical sexual harassment, sexual torture, forced contraception, forced sterilization, forced marriage, sexual slavery, sexual exploitation and cyber sexual harassment.
The latter two were deliberated on Monday, when the committee wrapped up the discussion before bringing the bill to a Baleg meeting on Tuesday for approval.
This is significant progress from the previous draft of the bill, which acknowledged only five forms of sexual violence: sexual harassment (both physical and nonphysical), cyber sexual harassment, forced use of contraceptives, forced sterilization and sexual exploitation.
"Lawmakers and the government appeared to have listened to the public's aspirations and tried to thoroughly discuss the bill," said Ratna Batara Munti of the Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women’s Association for Justice (LBH APIK), one of the groups that attended the House discussions.
The bill is expected to be passed in a House plenary session sometime before the House goes into recess on April 15, according to working group leader and Baleg deputy chairman Willy Aditya, from one of the proposers of the bill, the NasDem Party.
Read also: Jokowi wants immediate passing of sexual violence bill
Efforts to speed up discussions were materialized after President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo made a public appeal to the House in January to immediately pass the sexual violence bill after it had languished for nearly a decade and amid widespread furor over the growing prominence of sexual assault cases. This was later followed by House Speaker Puan Maharani, who promised that it would be tabled at a plenary session as soon as possible.
Favoring victims
In a meeting on Thursday, the committee agreed to have the bill guarantee victims can access restitutions from a so-called victim trust fund, to be established and regulated under a new government regulation, departing from a previous proposal that required perpetrators to compensate victims instead. This new provision, according to activists, was a more victim-centered approach.
The bill also mandates the establishment of integrated services to handle cases of sexual violence and help victims recover from the traumatic event. This will involve law enforcement agencies, health workers and psychologists, among others.
Read also: House, govt to deliberate sexual violence bill after recess: Puan
"So, this is a process that must be carried out together between law enforcement officers and service agencies through comprehensive services, coordinated by the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry," Komnas Perempuan commissioner Theresia Iswarini said on Sunday.
“Lawmakers and the government really see this in the context of victim protection – this is important to appreciate.”
According to her, the bill also gives Komnas Perempuan the role to monitor its implementation once passed into law.
Blind spots
But for all its merits, the bill has drawbacks; namely, it does not regulate rape and coerced abortions.
The committee decided to exclude them from the bill after the government's insistence, as it wanted to avoid overlapping with provisions being prepared for a proposed amendment to the Criminal Code. The latter legislation is expected to be passed in June, Law and Human Rights Deputy Minister Edward OS Hiariej said as reported by kompas.com.
Read also: Legislators nix ‘consent’ from sexual violence bill
The government initially wanted the bill to acknowledge abortion – not forced abortion – as a form of sexual violence, fueling backlash from women's groups who said it did not make sense.
The groups said that women victims of rape and those with serious health risks from pregnancy should be able to access safe abortion, which is guaranteed under the Health Law.
"The bill should cover coercive abortion – not abortion. Criminalization of women accessing abortion is in fact violence against women," Ratna from LBH APIK said.
