Deputy Minister of Higher Education: Sanctions for Harassers Depend on University

Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Science, and Technology Fauzan stated that sanctions for perpetrators of sexual harassment on campuses depend on the results of investigations and the final decisions of the universities. The same applies to the appropriate form of sanctions for perpetrators of online sexual violence, such as the incident at the Faculty of Law, University of Indonesia.

“The institution concerned will impose the sanctions after receiving the investigation report from the task force,” said Fauzan when contacted on Wednesday, 15 April 2026.

Fauzan conveyed that the government is fully entrusting the mechanism for resolving cases to the campus task forces. “The resolution mechanism will be regulated by the relevant task force,” he said.

He also responded to various allegations of sexual violence cases occurring at other campuses, such as Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) and Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB).

Fauzan expressed concern over the prevalence of sexual violence phenomena in higher education environments. “I am certainly saddened by the harassment incident, even if verbal, that befell the female student,” said Fauzan.

According to Fauzan, this has been anticipated by the Ministry of Education, Scientific Culture, and Technology through the establishment of task forces tasked with preventing and handling violence on campuses.

Separately, IPB Student President Abdan Rofi stated that the IPB Student Executive Board is currently coordinating with the task force for the prevention and handling of sexual violence on campus. He said he could not yet provide the chronology of the violence case at his campus. “I will later provide a chronological note and progress from us. Currently, we are in an audience with the PPKS task force,” said Abdan.

Meanwhile, ITB has issued an apology regarding the viral content of a song containing elements of sexual harassment against women. The song titled Erika was performed by the Semi Dangdut Orchestra (OSD) of the ITB Mining Student Association.

ITB stated that the video content does not reflect the values that should be upheld in the academic environment and student organisations. The HMT-ITB also stated that it does not condone any actions that degrade the dignity of individuals or any groups.