Indonesian Law Categorizes Catcalling as Sexual Abuse
Translator
Editor
21 October 2022 14:06 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia issued a Regulation of the Minister of Religious Affairs on October 5, that regulates the prevention and treatment of sexual violence in education units under the auspices of the Ministry of Religion. The regulation categorizes whistling, catcalling, and staring with sexual nuances as forms of sexual harassment/abuse.
A lecturer at Muhammadiyah University (UM) Surabaya, Sri Lestari, said that the regulation is a positive thing that can be used as a guide for educational units under the auspices of the Religious Affairs Ministry.
"People need to know that whistling or staring with sexual connotations are actions that violates human rights values and demeaning," he said.
Tari said that unwanted comments or catcalling often occurs in the community. "We find that happening many times on the street or other public spaces, such as at bus stops or sidewalks," she said.
She added that reporting that whistles, jokes and catcalling are considered against the law is an educational process via the media.
"The people who experience such harassment now know that [it is against the law] and have the courage to reprimand the perpetrator. They can stand up and call out the perpetrator in an act of anticipation and self-defense. They can now say that the perpetrators are violating the law and they can be reported to the police.
The Religious Affairs Minister's rule also categorized 16 acts of sexual violence that cover verbal and non-verbal harassments, physical, non-physical violence, whether carried out directly or online.
These include discriminatory remarks on someone's physical appearance; comments, whistles, jokes that have sexual nuances; sexual activities based on coercion, threats, persuasion; staring at someone with sexual nuances, and showing one's genitals. Also included are rape and all types of online gender-based violence (KBGO) such as sexually suggestive messages, showing videos, recording, and taking videos of sexual nature.
Devy Ernis
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
