Bandung City Council Finalises Draft Regional Regulation on Sexual Misconduct

The Special Committee (Pansus) 14 of the Bandung City Council is continuing discussions on the Draft Regional Regulation (Raperda) concerning the Prevention and Control of Risky Sexual Behaviour and Sexual Deviations, which aims to regulate behaviour in public spaces.

Member of Pansus 14 of the Bandung City Council, Muhamad Syahlevi Erwin Apandi, stated that the current discussion of the draft regulation has covered several aspects, including the possibility of implementing sanctions based on local customs and cultural norms.

“We hope this Draft Regional Regulation will be completed soon. Currently, the discussion has reached the point of considering local customary law, returning to the laws of each region. In essence, if someone deviates, they will be subject to local customs, such as being paraded, shamed, ostracised, or other measures. This is still under discussion. This is just an example,” said Syahlevi, quoted on Thursday (26/2).

According to him, the draft regulation is not intended to discriminate against individuals but rather to limit risky or deviant sexual behaviour so that it is not displayed openly in public spaces.

“We are not discriminating against people with deviations. They do not want to be labelled as deviant, but their behaviour is already deviant,” he explained.

Therefore, Syahlevi said that through this regional regulation, they want to remind people that deviant behaviour should not be displayed in public.

“They can do it in private, as long as they do not display it openly to the public,” he said.

He stated that risky sexual deviations and sexual behaviour are currently widespread. This can also be seen in public. “It is already widespread, even in malls,” he said.

Syahlevi then cited an example of a video that had gone viral. The video showed a person in Asia Afrika exposing their genitals.

“I don’t know if they are mentally ill or not. If they are mentally ill, they should be taken to a mental hospital. If they are normal, we should remind them,” he said.

Of course, sanctions must be imposed on those who violate the rules and order. However, these sanctions should not be too burdensome.

“The sanctions are still being discussed, and we have not yet decided what would be best. The options are also not yet available. There is a discussion about imposing sanctions in the form of fines, but we also do not want to burden the person,” he said.