Legal Protections for Victims of Sexual Violence in Educational Institutions: A Legal Perspective in Indonesia

Abstract

Everyone can become a victim of sexual violence, regardless of circumstance, place, or time. This is inevitable as long as there is a power dynamic between individuals in the community. Indeed, sexual violence is a criminal act that is influenced by the powerless control of the perpetrator over the victim. In order to give these victims a sense of justice and safety, victims of sexual violence are constantly ignored by all parties, especially law enforcement. With numerous variations in the perpetrators' methods of operation, this crime can be easily encountered even in a learning environment. A few of the existing laws and regulations that address sexual violence in Indonesia include the criminal code, the law on the elimination of sexual violence, and the regulation of the minister of education that will specifically protect victims of sexual violence within educational institutions. This article aims to provide an overview of the various legal protections available to victims of sexual violence in educational institutions in Indonesia, namely such as student body harassment, rape and verbal sexual crimes. This paper employs normative juridical legal research with primary, secondary, and tertiary sources such as laws and regulations, journals, and books relevant to the subject at hand. Finally, this paper will provide an analysis of the results that show legal protections in Indonesia have fulfilled a sense of justice for victims of sexual violence in the educational environment.