UNS — Commemorating the International Women’s Day, the Directorate General of Women Empowerment Student Executive Board (BEM) of Vocational School (SV) Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta held Webinar SETARA 2021. Under the “Empowering Women Empowering Humanity” theme, this webinar initiates women’s empowerment and supports women fighting sexual violence.
Three speakers are invited in the webinar, Muhijaatul Asfarah, a student of Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP) UNS, Achmad, S.H., M.H., Faculty Member of Faculty of Law (FH) UNS, and sexual violence survivor. Susi Handayani, an SV UNS student, acted as the moderator in the event held through Zoom Cloud Meeting on Saturday (27/3/2021). In the opening remark, Drs. Santoso Tri Hananto, M.Acc, Ak., the Director of SV UNS, reminded participants that the learning process does not stop in the classroom. Students must be active in various events to hone their soft-skills.
“Knowledge and skills can be acquired outside classrooms. Nowadays, students can acquire that knowledge,” Drs. Santoso stated.
Muhijaatul Asfarah delivered material on “Women Empowerment as a Media in Fighting Sexual Violence”. Farah-her nickname- explained sexual violence and its examples. According to National Committee for Women Protection (Komnas Perempuan), sexual violence consists of 15 types, including rape, sexual intimidation, and sexual harassment. Women empowerment and the fight against sexual violence are supported by Komnas Perempuan data showing 4,898 violence against women cases in 2019. This number increased by 75% in 2020, with 14,719 cases with majority of victims being women. Farah added that these numbers are likely only the recorded data, and many victims have not reported their cases, in other words, an iceberg phenomenon.
“Why (victims did not report)? Because when we report (as) the victim, we will be blamed. Besides, our regulation has not supported victims,” Farah said.
Cyber violence is also discussed. Farah provided examples of defamation, flaming (sending inappropriate images or messages to somebody), and morphing or image editing with sexual content. Indonesian law has regulated sexual violence in Criminal Code (KUHAP) Article 284.
As the second speaker, Achmad, S.H., M.H. discussed the “Challenges in Eliminating Sexual Violence in Indonesia”. The material discussed the urgency of a legal umbrella to fight sexual violence and the challenges, including lack of protection for victims and morality and cultures. Achmad also mentioned UNS efforts to combat sexual violence in the educational institution through close coordination between students and UNS Faculty Members. “Besides, BEM activities and members also can push the executive board to create policies that protect (students) from sexual violence in the campus,” Achmad stated. Humas UNS
Reporter: Rangga Pangestu Adji
Editor: Dwi Hastuti