10 - In anticipation of perennial contestation: Progress and challenges to national laws and by-laws concerning sexual violence and sexuality in the reformasi era

Summary

Twenty-five years of reformasi has seen progress in the development of policies towards various types of gender inequality. The most recent was the Sexual Crime Law, after twelve years of rigorous advocacy facing ferocious objection in the name of religion and morality. Nevertheless, more than two decades of reformasi has also seen regression and stagnation that hinder more advanced progress towards the fulfilment of women’s human rights. This chapter will discuss the conflicting policy frameworks where progress towards gender equality, as well as the gaps, contradictions and setbacks, are all consequences of deficits within the reformasi process, while contestations around gender equality, sexuality and sexual violence also serve as a focus of the perennial struggle for power in Indonesia. It will also highlight the role of women’s groups, their challenges and future priorities in their efforts to promote fulfilment of women’s rights.

The breakthrough of the Sexual Crime Law

The Sexual Crime Law, the first of its kind in Indonesian history, was passed by the Indonesian parliament in April 2022. Issuance of the Sexual Crime Law has been highly commended by national and international communities for its adoption of a victims-centred perspective. The law was passed amid a background of continuously increasing reported cases of sexual violence. According to Komnas Perempuan’s annual report, at least 26,117 cases of sexual violence were reported between 2017 and 2021 (Figure 10.1). The increase of sexual violence cases reported to Komnas Perempuan from 2017 to 2021 is almost sixfold, from 369 cases in 2017 to 2,204 cases in 2021. Rape, which includes marital rape and incest, is the main type of sexual violence reported.

The Sexual Crime Law addresses gaps in the 1946 Penal Code, and in legal provisions regarding sexual violence in general. It is noteworthy that rape (perkosaan) according to the 1946 Penal Code is limited to acts of forced sexual intercourse through vaginal penetration by male genitals. Other acts of forced sexual intercourse are categorised as molestation (pencabulan). There is also a category of intercourse (persetubuhan), defined as sexual intercourse perpetrated against a woman who is unconscious, or towards girls. While these three acts are all indisputably rape, due to their different classifications, perpetrators of persetubuhan will get the lightest punishment, while pencabulan is lighter than perkosaan.

The 1946 Penal Code doesn’t have any provisions regarding sexual harassment or many other kinds of sexual violence experienced by women in Indonesia.