Assault on a UIN Suska female student, media urged not to portray the victim as at fault

Currently, public attention is more focused on romance motives and narratives of rejected love than on the violence involved.

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) believes that the media should play a role in providing balanced information and not attack or revictimise victims. Reporting that implies a special relationship risks obscuring the facts of the violence that occurred and could lead to the violence in dating relationships being considered ‘normal’, said Devi Rahayu, a member of Komnas Perempuan, when contacted in Jakarta on Thursday.

The remarks were made in response to the case of assault against a female student of Sultan Syarif Kasim State Islamic University (UIN Suska) in Riau.

Various social media platforms stated that both parties had a close relationship, leading the public to think that the victim and the perpetrator were dating.

Devi Rahayu said, ‘Currently the public focuses on romance motives with narratives of rejected love, not on the violence.’

In personal relationships, women have the right to a safe space free from violence.

Furthermore, she said, highlighting the personal relationship between the perpetrator and the victim will make the focus on violence unclear. The violence that occurred is an extreme criminal act.

Earlier, FAP (23), a female student at UIN Suska Riau, was the victim of severe assault by her fellow student RM (22) on Thursday (26/2).

The assault occurred on the campus when the victim was about to attend a seminar proposal defence. The severity of the assault was motivated by a personal relationship.

The Riau Police have named RM as a suspect. The victim is currently undergoing recovery following major surgery.