Gender-Based Violence and the Implementation of the Sexual Violence Crime Law in Indonesia
Keywords:
Gender-based violence, Sexual Violence Crime Law, Feminist legal theory, Victim protection, Access to justice, IndonesiaAbstract
Gender-based violence remains a pervasive human rights issue in Indonesia, despite recent legal reforms aimed at strengthening victim protection and ensuring access to justice. The enactment of the Sexual Violence Crime Law (Law No. 12 of 2022) represents a significant milestone in Indonesia’s legal framework for addressing sexual violence. This article examines the implementation of the law and evaluates its effectiveness in responding to gender-based violence from a feminist legal perspective. Using a normative juridical approach complemented by qualitative analysis of statutory regulations, policy documents, and reported cases, the study investigates the extent to which the law has transformed institutional responses to victims. The findings reveal that while the legislation introduces comprehensive definitions of sexual violence, victim-centered protection mechanisms, and broader state obligations, substantial implementation challenges persist. These include limited institutional capacity, inadequate law enforcement training, socio-cultural stigmatization of victims, and uneven coordination among relevant agencies. The study further identifies tensions between progressive legal norms and patriarchal social structures that continue to shape legal practices and public perceptions. The article argues that legal reform alone is insufficient to eradicate gender-based violence without parallel institutional, cultural, and educational transformations. By assessing the early implementation of the Sexual Violence Crime Law, this study contributes to ongoing debates on feminist legal reform and offers policy recommendations for strengthening victim protection and improving access to justice in Indonesia. The findings also provide insights for other jurisdictions seeking to develop comprehensive legal responses to sexual violence within complex socio-cultural contexts.
References
Askin, Kelly D. 1997. War Crimes Against Women: Prosecution in International War Crimes Tribunals. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff.
Blackburn, Susan. 2004. Women and the State in Modern Indonesia. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 2001. Masculine Domination. Stanford: Stanford University Press.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 2014. “The Force of Law: Toward a Sociology of the Juridical Field”. In On the State: Lectures at the Collège de France, 1989–1992. Malden, MA: Polity Press.
Butt, Simon. 2023. “Indonesia’s new Criminal Code: Indigenising and Democratising Indonesian Criminal Law?.” Griffith Law Review 32 (2) 2023: 190-214.
Carlson, Ryan G., and K. Dayle Jones. 2010. “Continuum of Conflict and Control: A Conceptualization of Intimate Partner Violence Typologies.” The Family Journal 18(3): 248-254. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480710371795
CEDAW Committee. 2017. General Recommendation No. 35 on Gender-Based Violence Against Women.
Crenshaw, Kimberlé. 1991. “Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality, Identity Politics, and Violence against Women of Color.” Stanford Law Review 43 (6): 1241–1299. https://doi.org/10.2307/1229039.
Crouch, Melissa. 2014. Law and Religion in Indonesia: Conflict and the Courts in West Java. London: Routledge.
Decker, Michele R., et al. 2015. “Gender-based violence against adolescent and young adult women in low-and middle-income countries.” Journal of Adolescent Health 56(2): 188-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2014.09.003
Faraldo-Cabana, Patricia. 2021. “The wolf-pack case and the reform of sex crimes in Spain.” German Law Journal 22(5): 847-859. https://doi.org/10.1017/glj.2021.38
Fileborn, Bianca. 2017. “Justice 2.0: Street harassment victims’ use of social media and online activism as sites of informal justice.” British journal of criminology 57(6): 1482-1501. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azw093
Fineman, Martha Albertson. 2010. “The vulnerable subject: Anchoring equality in the human condition.” In Transcending the Boundaries of Law. London: Routledge-Cavendish, pp. 177-191. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203848531
Francioni, Francesco, ed. 2007. Access to Justice as a Human Right. Oxford: OUP Oxford.
Fraser, Nancy. 2009. Scales of Justice: Reimagining Political Space in a Globalizing World. New York: Columbia University Press.
Garcia-Moreno, Claudia, et al. 2003. “Responding to violence against women: WHO's Multicountry Study on Women’s Health and Domestic Violence.” Health and Human Rights 6(2): 112-127. https://doi.org/10.2307/4065432
Heise, Lori. 1998. “Violence Against Women: An Integrated Ecological Framework.” Violence Against Women 4 (3): 262–290. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801298004003002.
Johnson, Michael P. 2012. A Typology of Domestic Violence: Intimate Terrorism, Violent Resistance, and Situational Couple Violence. Lebanon, NH: University Press of New England.
Kelly, Liz. 2013. Surviving Sexual Violence. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.
Komisi Nasional Anti Kekerasan terhadap Perempuan (Komnas Perempuan). 2023. Catahu: Catatan Tahunan Kekerasan terhadap Perempuan. Jakarta: Komnas Perempuan. Available online at <https://komnasperempuan.go.id/catatan-tahunan-detail/catahu-2023-peluang-penguatan-sistem-penyikapan-di-tengah-peningkatan-kompleksitas-kekerasan-terhadap-perempuan>
Komisi Nasional Anti Kekerasan terhadap Perempuan (Komnas Perempuan). 2021. RUU PKS Policy Brief. Jakarta. Online at <https://komnasperempuan.go.id/keputusan-paripurna/13-risalah-kebijakan-ruu-penghapusan-kekerasan-seksual>
MacKinnon, Catharine A. 1989. Toward a Feminist Theory of the State. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Marcilla Córdoba, Gema. 2023. “For a Feminist and Guarantism-Based Methodology in the Criminal Protection of Sexual Freedom.” In Crisis of the Criminal Law in the Democratic Constitutional State: Manifestations and Trends. Cham: Springer International Publishing, pp. 137-158. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13413-5_8
Merry, Sally Engle. 2006. Human Rights and Gender Violence: Translating International Law into Local Justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. https://doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226520753.001.0001.
Musfirah, Nadia Nazmi, and Nurul Jannati Sapira. 2025. “A Critical Examination of the Sexual Violence Law from the Perspective of Feminism: Implications for Legal Reform and Social Justice.” Iuris Philosophia Journal 1(1): 53-71.
Prehatiningsih, Febry Dwi, et al. 2023. “Reconstruction of Legal Norms Through Harmonization of Sexual Crime Laws.” Unnes Law Journal 9(1): 45-66. https://doi.org/10.15294/ulj.v9i1.37270
Rahman, K. Sabeel. 2018. “Constructing and Contesting Structural Inequality.” Critical Analysis of Law 5(1): 99-126. https://doi.org/10.33137/cal.v5i1.29507
Republic of Indonesia. 2022. Law No. 12 of 2022 on Sexual Violence Crimes (Undang-Undang Tindak Pidana Kekerasan Seksual / TPKS Law). State Gazette of the Republic of Indonesia.
Republic of Indonesia. Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Nomor 30 Tahun 2021 tentang Pencegahan dan Penanganan Kekerasan Seksual di Lingkungan Perguruan Tinggi. Online at <https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/188450/permendikbud-no-30-tahun-2021>
Republic of Philippines. The Philippines’ Safe Spaces Act (Republic Act No. 11313) (Bawal Bastos Law). Available online at <https://lawphil.net/statutes/repacts/ra2019/ra_11313_2019.html>
Robinson, Kathryn May, and Sharon Bessell, eds. 2002. Women in Indonesia: Gender, Equity and Development. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS).
Sen, Amartya. 1999. Development as Freedom. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Siregar, Wahidah Zein Br, and Ella Syafputri Prihatini. 2024. “Passing the Sexual Violence Crime Law in Indonesia: Reflection of a Gender-Sensitive Parliament?.” Politics and Governance 12 (2024): 8245. https://doi.org/10.17645/pag.8245
Smart, Carol. 1989. Feminism and the Power of Law. London: Routledge.
Suryakusuma, Julia I. 2011. Ibuisme Negara: Konstruksi Sosial Keperempuanan Order Baru. Depok: Komunitas Bambu.
Temkin, Jennifer, and Barbara Krahé. 2008. Sexual Assault and the Justice Gap. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). 2017. General Recommendation No. 35 on Gender-Based Violence against Women. CEDAW/C/GC/35.
UN General Assembly. 1993. Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (DEVAW). A/RES/48/104.
UN Women Asia-Pacific. 2021. Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces: Global Results Report. Bangkok: UN Women Regional Office.
UN Women. 2020. Online and ICT-Facilitated Violence against Women and Girls: A Global Overview. New York: United Nations Entity for Gender Equality.
UN Women. 2020. The Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women during COVID-19.
United Nations General Assembly. 1993. Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
United Nations Women. 2020. The Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women during COVID-19.
United Nations. 1979. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
United Nations. 1993. Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
United Nations. 2015. Transforming Our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Wieringa, Saskia. 2002. Sexual Politics in Indonesia. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
World Health Organization (WHO). 2021. Violence against Women Prevalence Estimates, 2018. Geneva: WHO. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240022256.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Indah Sri Utari, Ridwan Arifin, Sergi Fernandez Alejandro (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
All writings published in this journal are the personal views of the authors and do not represent the views of this journal, publisher, and the author's affiliated institutions. Author(s) retain copyrights without any restriction under the license of a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
