This book begins with one fundamental question: is violence in our DNA as a nation?
The National Commission on Violence Against Women Annual Report (2022) states that throughout 2021, there were 338,498 cases of gender-based violence against women in Indonesia. This figure, although lower than the 2019 report, is actually the tip of the iceberg. In the same year, the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (2022) recorded 14,517 cases of violence against children. This KPPA data is greater than the data from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission which recorded 5,953 cases of child rights violations.
At the village and community level, the number is no lower. The Ministry of Social Affairs (2021) noted that in 2020, 3,150 villages in Indonesia were prone to social conflict. In fact, throughout 2018-2020, there were 71 social conflicts at the provincial level in 21 provinces in Indonesia. The Central Statistics Agency (2022) released data that throughout 2021, there were 481 deaths due to conflict. But again, this data is just the tip of the iceberg, because only those who died at the scene or in the hospital were recorded, and the conflicts recorded were relatively large conflicts that were detected by the state.
At the higher education level, the condition is no better. Although statistics on the number of cases of sexual violence in higher education are not available, news reports in the mass media show that cases of sexual violence in higher education in Indonesia continue to emerge. Based on a survey of 76 higher education managers in Indonesia, 75% of respondents stated that cases of sexual violence had occurred on their campuses. The results of the survey confirmed observations and news reports about cases of sexual violence in higher education. Cases of sexual violence are very difficult to identify and uncover.
Reports from Tirto, Vice Indonesia and the Jakarta Post, for example, recorded 174 reports of sexual violence spread across 79 higher education in Indonesia, of which 172 were reported by students, 1 report by lecturers, and 1 report by staff. This report is certainly just the tip of the iceberg, because based on data from the Ministry of Education and Culture, there are 4,550 universities with more than 8 million students, meaning that the potential for sexual violence is higher than the available reports.
The existence of rules and policies related to sexual violence is increasingly crucial, because the number of sexual violence cases is increasing every year. The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) reported that cases of sexual violence against women in the personal sphere recorded in service institutions reached 2,363 cases in 2021. Rape cases dominate.
In response to the data released, it is very crucial to not only ask whether, but why. So the initial question we asked changed: why is violence an inseparable reality from this nation? What is the impact on women, children, and other vulnerable groups? This is important, because perpetrators of violence are not only individuals, families, communities, and even countries. Victims of violence are also very broad, not only women, men, children, vulnerable groups, and even communities. Given the breadth of this spectrum, it is very important to position the problem in the right portion.
The government and society need to find solutions and provide legal protection for women and children who are victims of sexual violence. The Complaints and Services Forum as one of the independent reporting and assistance institutions, one of the partners of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, said that specifically sexual violence against women was recorded at 1,290 cases, 548 of which occurred in the household or family, while 660 other cases occurred in public spaces. In addition, there were 168 cases of sexual violence in consanguineous relationships with the victim, the perpetrators of which were fathers, uncles, or older siblings. Meanwhile, sexual violence committed by people close to them was 195 cases. In the same category, sexual violence committed by people known to the victim was 408 cases, and cases committed by people unknown to the victim were 36 cases. In addition, there were 480 cases classified into nine categories of violence against women, the largest being 329 cases of sexual harassment. While others, including cases of sexual exploitation, slavery for prostitution, forced abortion, and forced use of contraception or condoms.