"This is a law, which Mrs. Puan (Maharani) said was a Kartini Day gift. Although we wanted to make this (ratified law) a gift on Valentine's Day, it didn't happen," Aditya said at the 19th Plenary Session of the House of Representatives, Session IV Year 2021–2022, which was accessed from here on Tuesday.
He disclosed that the bill employs a victim's perspective and sides with them.
The bill also provides a legal basis to law enforcement officers for addressing sexual violence cases.
The Sexual Violence Crimes Bill aims to provide a sense of justice and protection to victims of sexual violence.
"This is the state's (form of commitment) to provide a sense of justice and protection to victims of sexual violence, which we have referred to as the iceberg phenomenon," Aditya said.
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The drafting of the Sexual Violence Crime Bill was a big political commitment from the House of Representatives, the government, as well as a form of participation from the public as a whole, he added.
Women, children, and people with disabilities have waited for the draft bill for long.
He said he expected the bill's ratification to be the state's first step in efforts to honor women and children.
On Tuesday, the House of Representatives, during a plenary meeting led by House Speaker Puan Maharani, approved the Draft of the Sexual Violence Crimes Bill to be passed into law.
The draft law was proposed in 2016, but its passage over the course of six years until 2022 posed difficulties. Many people had called for its ratification.
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Translator: Anita P D, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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