SEXTORTION

Posted by Asia Views | Dec 7, 2020 | 0 |

On December 3, Transparency International (TI) launched its latest Global Corruption Barometer (GCB) report, focused on the Asia-Pacific region. Unlike TI’s Corruption Perception Index which examines perceptions of corruption based on surveys of businesspeople and informed individuals, the GCB looks at the impact of corruption on ordinary people. In other words, how does the man on the street view and experience corruption in their daily lives?

This latest GCB surveyed 20,000 citizens of 17 Asian countries, Indonesia included. They were asked whether they personally encountered cases of corruption and bribery over the past 12 months, their views on the performance of public institutions, bribery and the role of citizens in reporting corruption.

Practically all the Indonesians surveyed (90%) believe that government corruption is still a problem, that efforts to stem it remain stagnant. In fact, almost half of the respondents say that corruption has become worse. Sentiment towards legislators and law enforcement agencies remains negative, although there was acknowledgment of some improvement since 2013. Legislators are still perceived to be the most corrupt, followed by government officials, both at local and national levels, who are seen as being even worse than the police.

New in this 10^th edition of the GCB is the performance of anti-corruption agencies, which in Indonesia’s case is the KPK. Surprisingly, 51% still think that the KPK is doing a reasonably good job. Given the intense public discourse on the controversial revision of the KPK law during the time the survey was taken, one would have thought otherwise. Additionally, three other new aspects were raised, namely the use of personal connections in accessing public services, vote-buying and most interestingly, the question of sextortion.

Sextortion, as defined by the International Association of Women Judges who first used the term in 2008, is not a straight-forward case of sexual harassment but a specific type of corruption, a ‘sexualized’ form where sex is the ‘currency’ not money. For an act of sexual misconduct to qualify as sextortion, three conditions must be met. Firstly, there must be the element of abuse of authority by those entrusted with power, for their personal gain. Secondly, there has to be a quid pro quo. In other words, sexual favor is exchanged for a specific request. Lastly, the perpetrator uses psychological coercive pressure, rather than physical violence, to gain sexual favors in an assymetrical power relationship.

Few understand the meaning of sextortion, but once its definition as the “abuse of power to obtain a sexual benefit or advantage” is made clear, then Indonesia comes up on top among 17 countries surveyed over this problem. Some 18% of respondents claim to have experienced sextortion themselves or know of someone who has. Srilanka is a close second with 17% and Thailand comes third with 15%. Amazingly, India — reportedly a country where women are often abused – has a sextortion rate of ‘only’ 11%, which is nevertheless still higher than the regional average of 8%.

In Indonesia, legal experts are still debating over the terminology ‘sex gratification’. According to the law on corruption, gratification is defined as “the act of giving money, goods, discounts, commissions, loans without interest, travel tickets, accommodations, treatment, and other facilities.” It is unclear whether or not sexual favors should fall under the category of ‘other facilities.’ There is also the burden of proof. Even if the victim reports the violation, it is difficult to provide tangible evidence that the exchange ever took place. And in cases of sexual misconduct, the victim is often the stigmatized party.

The research done by Transparency International and the findings of the GCB should compel us to look deeper into this phenomenon. Besides raising awareness of this gender-biased type of corruption, legal experts also need to incorporate sextortion into our criminal justice framework so that cases can be prosecuted and victims can seek redress. The timing could not be better, as the Indonesian National Commission on Violence Against Women is currently participating in the international “16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence” campaign, which ends on December 10^th, the International Day for Human Rights, a day after International Anti-Corruption Day.

Even though only a handful of sextortion cases have been covered by law enforcement agencies and the media, the GCB report reveals the high probability that many cases may be left unexposed and under-reported, simply because many fail to recognize its true significance. Sextortion combines two of the most egregious abuses: violence against women and corruption. Now is the time to seriously deal with it.

Natalia Soebagjo

Bali Resident & Writer

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EXTRICATING NDONESIAN CHILDREN FROM ISIS INFLUENCE ABROAD

Indonesia urgently needs to revisit the possibility of repatriating the neediest of its young citizens stranded abroad, whose families had earlier joined ISIS. Most of these children are in camps in northern Syria but there are also small numbers in the Philippines, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Extricating Indonesian Children from ISIS Influence Abroad”, the latest report from the Institute for Policy Analysis of Conflict (IPAC) argues that the government could begin by bringing back small groups of unaccompanied children under ten years of age, who pose minimal security risk and are most vulnerable to deteriorating conditions in the camps.“The problem is that health and security conditions are worsening by the day in the Syrian camps, and the children are growing older,” says Dyah Kartika, IPAC analyst. “They need access to schools, a nurturing environment, and medical attention. If the government waits too long, the children will be further exposed to ISIS ideology.” The new report examines a 2019 list of Indonesians in camps and prisons run by the Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The Indonesian government has been trying to verify their citizenship, but with pseudonyms, misspellings and bad transliterations, it is a daunting task. At the time the data was collected, between March and June 2019, there were 555 Indonesians in SDF camps and prisons, including 367 children. Among the children, approximately 277 were under the age of ten and 34 were unaccompanied. In June 2021, there are fewer than ten children who are both unaccompanied and under the age of ten that could be prioritized for return. Bringing back children of ISIS families is no easy task. The report analyses the main challenges faced by the Indonesian government. These include definitional issues, bureaucratic competition, the difficulty of verifying nationality, evaluating the toll of exposure to conflict, assessing security risk, and finding relatives or others willing to provide care once the children are returned. In addition, COVID has meant stringent restrictions on travel, placing further obstacles in the way of repatriation. There are several models for rehabilitation of children exposed to violent extremism in Indonesia that could be modified to accommodate the needs of children repatriated from abroad. The report examines these models and argues that the government does not need to have every detail of rehabilitation programs in place before it starts extricating children from ISIS influence. It can start by bringing back the most vulnerable children and then modify programs as needed.

“It’s important that the government see these children as victims” says Dyah. “They deserve a chance to be children again.”

SEXTORTION