Sexual Violence Regulation Helps Victims to Speak Up, Says Legal Practitioner

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The recently enforced ministerial regulation on sexual violence prevention and handling is encouraging victims to speak up, seek help, and file a report, stated legal practitioner Justitia Avila Veda.

“The existence of the regulation and its positive impact can be felt clearly. With the increasing number of reports, it has turned out to be a positive tool for victims to speak up, report, and seek help," she said during an online discussion on Saturday.

According to Veda, the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology's Regulation Number 30 of 2021 on Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence in Higher Education has led to the public condemning sexual violence, especially in the higher education environment.

To this end, victims of sexual violence have gained the power to speak up about what they have experienced, she said.

In addition, the regulation has also stimulated discourse among the community and students to encourage its implementation so that victims feel more secure and protected when they speak up and report such cases, she added.

Before the regulation was issued, victims tended to face difficulty speaking up about the sexual violence they experienced, Veda noted.

Even when other parties came to know of it, it was still hard to reach the victims because they did not want to come forward due to several reasons, she added.

"They were afraid it would affect their grades or that they would be given administrative sanctions by the faculty. Those are the real things that victims face,” she pointed out.

For that reason, the new regulation indeed has had a positive impact, especially when it comes to support for victims, she said.

Read also: Sexual Violence, Organization Urges Police to Arrest Son of Cleric

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