Yogyakarta, June 5th 2025 – The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (Fisipol) of Universitas Gadjah Mada is committed to the implementation of the Law on Sexual Violence (TPKS). In this mission, Fisipol certainly seeks to raise awareness of the prevention of sexual violence by educating all academicians, namely lecturers, education staff, and students. Carrying out this theme, the Department of Sociology of UGM invited the Commissioner of the National Commission on Violence Against Women and the Task Force for the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence (PPKS) UGM on Thursday (5/6).
Prof. Dr. Alimatul Qibtiyah, S.Ag., M.Si said that every citizen has the right to be free from discrimination, intimidation, and violence. Campus is considered as one of the centers of knowledge where idealism and societal values grow. So of course the campus needs to strive to create a safe learning environment and become a means of character education.
Over the years, the National Commission on Violence against Women has continued to push for a reduction in the number of sexual harassment and violence. Not only in terms of handling, the strategy also includes developing terminology, terms, or definitions of violence itself. According to Permendikbudristek Number 55 of 2024, violence is any act with or without the use of physical force that causes harm to the body or life resulting in physical, sexual or psychological suffering and deprivation of liberty, including making people unconscious or helpless. This definition, which is different from the previous one, provides a broader spectrum of types of sexual harassment and violence.
“Interestingly in the last three years, sexual harassment cases have been reported more than rape cases. Whereas previously rape was the most reported,” said Alimatul. The figure indicates that people have understood the existence of non-physical sexual violence, such as sexual jokes, hate speech, and taunts and words aimed at sexual degradation. This type of case is vulnerable in public spaces, especially digital media.
“Meanwhile, if we look at the victims, they are usually younger and less educated than the perpetrators, so there is a power relationship here. This is a challenge,” said Alimatul. This motive is not far from the patterns that are often encountered, where the perpetrator commits harassment and violence with the motive of expecting recognition or control over the victim. Raising awareness about the motives of sexual violence and harassment continues to be encouraged to stop the phenomenon of victim blaming.
Unfortunately, shocking data still emerged in the survey around gender stereotypes. As many as 70% of respondents agreed that women are raped and harassed because they wear revealing clothes. Alimatus emphasized, of course this assumption is inversely proportional to reality. The fact is that whatever type of clothing the victim wears, whether closed or open, they are not completely protected from sexual harassment. “Revealing attire cannot be used to legitimize the violence, even 9% of reported sexual violence perpetrators come from circles that should protect, such as teachers, lecturers, civil servants, police, and others,” she said.
Task Force of PPKS UGM, Dr. Nurhadi Susanto, SH, M.Hum. gave an overview of the challenges faced by the task force while handling cases of sexual violence and harassment on campus. According to him, the scope of authority of the task force needs to be strengthened. Unlike law enforcement officials, the task force in the handling process still has weak legal power. This of course hampers the handling of cases on campus.
Another problem is proving the case. This process is relatively slow when it is already at the stage of law enforcement officials. Meanwhile, the handling of sexual violence and harassment must certainly consider the condition of the main victim, not just focus on punishing the perpetrator. “We hope that the task force of PPKS UGM can consist of elements of lecturers, education staff, and students. So we can integrate with each other,” he concluded.
Efforts to handle sexual violence on campus are a form of commitment to provide a sense of security for learners. The existence of the task force of PPKS UGM is expected to provide space for reporting, handling, and protection for victims of sexual violence and harassment.