TEMPO.CO - Continuing in the Constitutional Court is the hearing of an application from a group of individuals to amend Article 284 of the Indonesian Criminal Code. An amendment that, if successful, will act to criminalize large sections of Indonesian society including followers of minority religions, members of the LBGT community and even rape victims.
Article 284 as it currently stands regards the crime of adultery, that is, a married man or women engaging in sexual relations with a person who is not their spouse.
The group of plaintiffs is hoping for an amendment to this article which will widen the scope of the law to make all sexual relations that occur outside of marriage illegal. This is more or less an attempt to change the law to bring it in line with the religious concept regarding ‘zina’ or extramarital sex, as the majority of Indonesian society understands it.
There are some dire consequences that stand to affect a large proportion of Indonesian society should this amendment go ahead.
The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has identified a number of other parties who stand to face prosecution should this judicial review proceed.
Teenagers in Indonesia are increasingly sexually active. Should Article 284 be changed children and teenagers who have engaged in, or are even suspected to have engaged in, sexual relations will be criminalized and prone to prosecution. Criminalization and jail terms for teenagers has a huge potential to wreck these individuals future prospects.
Responsibility for the increasing sexual activities of teenagers should fall on the shoulders of the role models and educators in society such as parents, teachers and religious leaders. A national curriculum system that incorporates sexual and reproductive health education should be favored over a mechanism that could jail teenagers suspected of having engaged in sexual activities.
Other parties who will be criminalized by the proposed amendment to the Criminal Code include anyone who has not had the opportunity to register their marriages with the State. Followers of minority religions and traditional beliefs that are not acknowledged by the state face incredible difficulties having their marriages registered. There are also unknown, but undoubtedly numerous, couples in Indonesia that have been married by way of a 'Nikah Siri', a marriage that is seen as legitimate according to Islamic Law but unrecognized by the State. An unintended consequence of this proposed amendment will be the criminalization of these groups.
An issue that has already gained a significant amount of publicity in the press is that the members of the LBGT community will also be criminalized and same sex relations will possibly result in jail terms. This argument is however, unlikely to carry much weight in a society in which anti LGBT sentiment has reached an all-time high.
As Komnas Perempuan notes, Indonesia is a country in which the instance of sexual violence continues to rise from year to year. The amendment would also have dire consequences for victims of sexual abuse and rape. Victims of rape will be hindered from accessing justice because a simple statement from the rapist stating that the rape was consensual will result in the victim being prone to prosecution and a possible prison sentence. This threat of criminalization will undoubtedly reduce the number of victims who are prepared to report rapes and sexual abuse and allow rapists to act with impunity.
The unsavory possibility regarding the criminalization of rape victims brings back disturbing memories of a case in Aceh in 2010 where a woman was gang raped by eight males and then publicly caned by the Sharia Police for having engaged in adultery.
The hearing continued on Tuesday (4/10/2016) when the court heard testimonies from the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and a number of gender and human rights experts. In this session, scientific facts regarding health and gender were opposed with references to holy texts and religious intepretations.
As the hearing continues into the future, Komnas Perempuan will continue to lead the struggle against a legal amendment that if successfully passed would constitute a major regression for the protection of Indonesian citizens' rights.
JACK BRITTON
The author is a current volunteer with Komnas Perempuan in Jakarta. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Komnas Perempuan. Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
For enquiries contact: jackbritton@live.com.au or jackbritton@support.komnasperempuan.go.id
