It is urgent to ratify the bill, but there should be synergy with other regulations, such as the KUHP (Criminal Code), Law No. 23 of 2004 on Eradicating Violence in Households, Aroma Elmina Martha remarked.
Within the context of the sexual violence prevention bill, overcriminalization could occur if the punishment delivered to perpetrators is higher than what is stipulated within existing laws, she explained.
Synergy between the bill and other laws, especially the ones that pertain to sexual violence, could be realized by considering the cost and the benefit, she said.
According to Martha, within the bill, the House of Representatives (DPR) should consider the cost of criminalization, which would cover law enforcement, and whether its benefits to the people are aligned with other laws.
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Moreover, the sexual violence prevention bill should include legal procedures that do not overlap with other regulations, she added.
During the webinar held by UII's Law Study Center, she underlined that the bill, along with other new regulations concerning sexual violence, should be complemented with information dissemination among the public.
With this, the implementation of these regulations would be optimal, Martha said.
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According to the 2021 annual record of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), 299,991 cases of violence against women were reported in 2020.
Sexual violence accounted for most of the cases, with 45.6 percent of sexual violence incidents occurring in public spaces and 17.8 percent in the private domain, as per the data.
Meanwhile, according to data provided by the Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, the number of cases of violence against children reached 12,566, as of November 2021.
Sexual violence emerged as the most frequent form of violence experienced by children, accounting for 45 percent of the cases.
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Translator: Tri Meilani A, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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