Problems in the Regulation of Non-Physical Sexual Harassment in Indonesia and Its Implications

Abstract

Rape Culture that is formed in society indirectly corners the victim and normalizes the actions of the perpetrator. In a Rape Culture pyramid, it is explained that normalizing relatively small acts of sexual violence such as sexual jokes, sexist acts, to acts such as sexual harassment if it continues to be normalized, it is feared that it will lead to the normalization of much worse sexual violence such as rape, sexual abuse, and so on. The nation's struggle to prevent acts that are included in sexual violence has finally paid off marked by the passing of Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning the Crime of Sexual Violence. Law No. 12 of 2022 also formulates "sexual harassment" as one of the criminal offenses along with its criminal sanctions. The concerns of the community, especially women who are often victims of sexual harassment, especially non-physical sexual harassment, now have a legal umbrella to protect victims and ensnare the perpetrators. However, the article containing sexual harassment is still found to have shortcomings in the form of elements in the article that can potentially criminalize innocent people, therefore there is a need for guidelines that can explain how to apply this article for law enforcement officials. Another problem is that there is no minimum punishment which has the potential to cause disparity in judges' decisions. In addition, non-physical sexual harassment sanctions that are oriented towards punishment and/or imposition of fines on perpetrators have the potential to cause prison overcapacity and do not touch the root causes of sexual violence in society in the form of Rape Culture.