JakartaPost-Mar 26, 2022
The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has called on the Supreme Court to reject a legal attempt to overturn provisions on consent in state guidelines for on-campus sexual violence, following a successful bid to revise another nondiscriminatory policy. The national struggle to protect women against sexual violence has often been complicated by the more conservative elements of Indonesian society, who are reluctant to endorse rights that go beyond prevailing religious and cultural norms. Some sections of the population are more forthcoming, actively blocking any progressive policy-making, as was the case in May last year, when a mass organization from West Sumatra successfully had the court revoke a joint ministerial decree banning public schools from prescribing religious dress code for students regardless of their faith. At the time, the justices agreed to revoke the decree because it was inconsistent with the umbrella framework. Now the same group, the Minangkabau Customary Institution (LKAAM), has filed another review with the Supreme Court, this time challenging a regulation from the Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry on the prevention and handling of sexual violence cases in educational institutions. The group has argued that the term used, “without the victim’s consent,” does not meet prevailing norms. Read more at:
