The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has discovered that reported sexual harassment and abuse, especially online, has increased substantially this year as the country withstands the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to Komnas Perempuan information, 659 cases of online unwanted sexual advances or abuse were reported from January to October of this year.
” The number is more than double that of 2019, with 281 cases,” Komnas Perempuan commissioner Mariana Amiruddin said on Tuesday.
Most of the reports filed with the commission were associated with sexual assault, such as the nonconsensual circulation of private sexual material, she said.
Komnas Perempuan likewise saw an increase in reports of sexual assault suffered by men and kids, as well as brand-new patterns of sexual abuse throughout this year. ” The patterns and contexts of the cases are challenging to understand by the public, such as cases that belong to fetishism, swingers and other brand-new cases,” Mariana said.
The commission shared the data as part of the 16 Days of Advocacy Versus Gender-Based Violence. The global campaign began on Nov. 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and will run up until Dec. 10, Human Rights Day.
An earlier report by the Southeast Asia Flexibility of Expression Network (SAFEnet) supports Komnas Perempuan ' s findings, revealing that digital harassment and the abuse of ladies has actually increased at a disconcerting rate because in 2015.
SAFEnet got 60 reports of online unwanted sexual advances and abuse in2019 The victims in 53 of the cases were ladies, and the rest decreased to expose their gender.
The most typical kind of online sexual assault reported to the network was the sharing of personal videos without permission, making up 45 of the cases, followed by personal privacy violations with seven cases, SAFENet executive director Damar Juniarto said on Nov. 10.
There were likewise two cases of impersonation and 3 cases including the sharing of intimate photos in the digital sphere without permission. Other reports consisted of public shaming and other forms of personal privacy offense.
While a lot of cases were discovered to involve a previous partner looking for vengeance, SAFEnet discovered a number of cases that seemed politically motived.
” For example, there was a case of a female activist whose nude pictures were dispersed without her authorization and who was accused of having an affair with a fellow activist, apparently aiming to undermine her operate in turning down the controversial modification of the Corruption Removal Commission [KPK] Law,” Damar stated.
Amid the rise in reported sexual abuse in the nation, victims continued to struggle to get justice, Komnas Perempuan kept in mind.
According to the commission, 21,841 sexual assault cases were reported to Komnas Perempuan from 2016 to 2019, 40 percent of which were rape cases.
” However, less than 30 percent of the rape cases were processed in court,” Mariana stated.
The main aspects that avoided victims from obtaining justice were an insufficient legal structure for certain cases, a burden of proof that lay greatly with victims and a consistent victim-blaming culture, she added.
Komnas Perempuan highlighted the need to quickly pass the long-awaited sexual violence removal expense (RUU PKS), which has been stalled in your house of Representatives after being dropped from the year ' s National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) top priority list in July.
” The unavailability and derailment of a legal structure to safeguard victims of sexual assault is a type of neglect and an offense of ladies ' s humans rights as residents safeguarded under the law,” Mariana said.
The commission advised the federal government and your house to consist of the sexual violence elimination costs in the 2021 Prolegnas.
