Doctors' Association Proposes National Protection System for Medical Workers
The Indonesian General Practitioners Association (PDUI) has proposed the establishment of a National Protection System for Medical and Health Personnel following repeated cases of violence against health workers. The proposal was presented during a hearing with Commission IX of the House of Representatives (DPR) at Senayan, Jakarta, on Monday, 13 July 2026.
PDUI Chairman Ardiansyah Bahar said the death of Eliza Princila Utami Pakaenoni, known as Icha, a doctor in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, was not an isolated incident but rather reflected the weak protection system for medical personnel in Indonesia.
Icha reportedly took her own life, allegedly triggered by depression after experiencing intimidation from a regional legislative council (DPRD) member whilst on duty at hospital. “Our task is not to find who is at fault, but to identify systemic weaknesses so that similar incidents do not recur,” said Ardiansyah during the meeting with the commission overseeing health affairs.
Ardiansyah said violence against medical and health personnel is a serious issue requiring national-level handling. Of the 300,000 health workers surveyed by the World Health Organization (WHO), between 8 and 38 per cent experienced physical violence at some point in their careers.
Furthermore, the study showed that 61.9 per cent of health workers had experienced violence in various forms. Verbal violence was the most common, with a prevalence of 57.6 per cent. Most of this violence occurred in primary healthcare facilities.
“General practitioners, who largely work in primary healthcare facilities, are certainly the most vulnerable group,” he said.
According to Ardiansyah, the situation in Indonesia is suspected to be far greater than recorded because there is no nationally documented and systematically organised reporting system. As a result, many cases only come to light after attracting public attention.
He noted, for example, that between 2019 and 2023, four doctors in Papua fell victim to violence, three of whom died. Meanwhile, PDUI data from 2020–2021 recorded eight nurses as victims of violence. The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) received nine reports of violence against female nurses throughout 2022–2023.
“These are only a few of the many cases that never surface. The phenomenon is like the tip of an iceberg because we do not yet have a national reporting system,” he said.
According to Ardiansyah, there are six main issues preventing optimal protection for medical personnel. First, protective regulations remain scattered across various ministries and agencies without clear coordination. Second, violence against medical personnel is still processed as ordinary criminal offences without specific legal aggravation.
In addition, healthcare facilities are not yet required to have structured and auditable violence prevention programmes. There is also no national reporting and incident surveillance system, victims have not systematically received psychological support or legal assistance, and weak protection is feared to make health workers reluctant to serve in remote, border and island regions.
Ardiansyah said Indonesia already has a number of legal foundations governing medical personnel protection, including Law Number 17 of 2023 on Health, Government Regulation Number 28 of 2024, and various Minister of Health regulations. However, these rules have not been implemented effectively on the ground.
Referring to WHO recommendations, Ardiansyah explained that health worker protection should be built on four pillars: prevention, support for victims, protection of health workers’ rights, and inclusive protection for all health professions across all regions.
Ardiansyah cited several countries with stronger protection for health workers. In China, perpetrators of violence against medical personnel can face administrative sanctions up to criminal penalties.
The United Kingdom has imposed heavier punishments for perpetrators of violence against emergency service workers. Meanwhile, several states in the United States require healthcare facilities to have violence prevention programmes, including the use of panic buttons. Australia also has a national incident recording system that serves as the basis for policy-making.
Drawing on these practices, PDUI proposed the establishment of a comprehensive, coordinated National Protection System for Medical and Health Personnel with legal force. According to Ardiansyah, such a system must be built on four main pillars: prevention, protection, rapid response, and victim recovery.
“We must not only act after an incident occurs each time a case arises,” said Ardiansyah.