Yogyakarta, September 11th 2020 – The polemic over the issuance of the agenda for the ratification of the RUU PKS from Prolegnas which in recent months has become an issue for the people haso become one of the interesting topics of digital future discussion which was held by Center for Digital Society (CfDS) FISIPOL UGM. This digital discussion series that was held for the 33th time presented an activist whose concern is in the gender equality issues, Kalis Mardiasih. This woman who is familiarly called Kalis is also an active writer in several websites such as Mojok, Detik, and Geo Times. In this Difussion #33, Kalis was invited to share her views and knowledge regarding the urgencies of RUU PKS and analyzing the problematics of gender-based online sexual violence which was normalized by some people.
Five Important Elements of RUU PKS That Must Be Understood!
The interactive discussion began with Kalis’ presentation at the beginning which explained about the five urgencies and the potential and superiority of the RUU PKS if it is passed. To the audience, Kalis clearly conveyed the five points as follows:
1st Element: Criminal Procedure
The existence of the PKS Bill can be one of the mediations for victims of sexual violence to get justice, because so far many are still faced with obstacles in seeking justice. The existing regulations are still considered to be impartial to the victim, for example the Criminal Procedure Code (KUHAP) stipulates that there are only five pieces of evidence that can be used by victims to fulfill the requirements of proof. Not only that, victims are also often blamed and stigmatized by law enforcement officials. In fact, victims are often reported back as perpetrators.
2nd Element: Prevention
The second advantage of the RUU PKS is that there are precautionary points that can be used to minimize the occurrence of sexual violence. It is also better, because the precautionary points in the RUU PKS will be implemented in various sectors, from the infrastructure sector, services and spatial planning, education, governance, the economy, to the social and cultural sectors.
3rd Element: Recovery
Unlike the existing regulations, the PKS Bill will also be intended to ensure that there is an element of recovery for the conditions of victims of sexual violence. Which is really needed for victims who are often imposed by the negative stigma of society. Recovery is also crucial in helping to reduce the feeling of deep trauma for the victim.
4th Element: Monitoring
The potential of the RUU PKS is also reflected in the implementation of a monitoring element which aims to monitor a series of efforts to achieve the RUU PKS in mediating many problems of sexual violence. Kalis also emphasized that this element did not become an urgency for the latest regulations. Because of that, this element also considered as an important thing in minimizing the potential of sexual violence.
5th Element: Criminal Provision
The fifth element of RUU PKS is no less important. The RUU PKS is offering something that could make the perpetrators of sexual violence learned their lessons. Because the criminal provisions stipulated in the RUU PKS include basic criminal provisions (imprisonment, social work, and special rehabilitation) and additional criminal provisions (restitution, seizure of profits obtained from criminal acts, special guidance, revocation of child custody, political rights, right to exercise employment, revocation of position or profession, and revocation of business licenses).
The five advantages of the RUU PKS, for Kalis, are a way of reform that is used to create a sense of security for everyone. Kalis emphasized that although it is widely known that women often become sexual objects, this should not be used to deny the reality that men also experience the same thing. The problem of sexual violence is rooted in unequal power relations, both for women and for men. Therefore, the potential for sexual violence is still rife. Online spaces such as social media are often a place for perpetrators to make their victims helpless. Without realizing it, online sexual violence can be found from the existence of comments that lead to sexual harassment, uploading sexual videos with the aim of embarrassing the victim, misusing other people’s photos for sexual purposes, to the existence of campuses’ accounts that post the photos of female students also being part of this. Online sexual violence is sometimes still normalized for some people.
As part of the community who is willing to educate themselves about the importance of minimizing the occurrence of sexual violence, Kalis advised to stay focused on fighting for the ratification of the RUU PKS in order to make everyone safe. “The RUU PKS is a great hope for creating a new culture that realizes that sexual violence is not only a crisis, but more than that, which must be fought together to achieve safety for everyone, not normalize the sexual violence.” Kalis emphasized.