Don't Normalise Lewd Chats; It's the Initial Step Towards Sexual Violence

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA – Clinical psychologist and University of Indonesia graduate, Kasandra Putranto, explains that digital communication has unique characteristics that can prompt someone to engage in actions they might not undertake in the real world. The digital space, with its privacy and physical distance, often creates a false sense of security for the perpetrator.

In Kasandra’s view, verbal sexual violence through digital media is not a communication mishap but the result of interaction patterns that lose ethical control. “The alleged case of verbal sexual violence involving students from the Faculty of Law at Universitas Indonesia (UI) demonstrates that sexual violence does not always take a physical form but can also occur through digital communication,” Kasandra stated on Wednesday (15/4/2026).

Kasandra said the incident serves as an alarm for campuses in Indonesia because, in practice, harassment—whether verbal or in digital spaces—still exists and needs to be addressed systematically. This is because sexual violence cases are like an iceberg phenomenon that still faces difficulties in law enforcement, both in disclosure, proof, and judicial processes.

“Nevertheless, the case occurring in the student environment does not mean that all universities in Indonesia are in a dire state regarding understanding harassment,” she said.

Kasandra conveyed that this phenomenon also shows that the problem is not just with individuals but with a culture that still normalises sexual jokes and lacks sensitivity to boundaries. Therefore, the involved campuses are advised to take comprehensive steps, not just reactive ones.

In addition to enforcing sanctions through existing mechanisms, campuses are deemed necessary to strengthen education on consent and communication ethics, optimise the role of the Sexual Violence Prevention and Handling Task Force (Satgas PPKS), provide safe and victim-friendly reporting channels, and build a campus culture that does not tolerate harassment in any form. Regarding sanctions such as Drop Out (DO), she believes it can be a firm form of disciplinary enforcement. However, sanctions alone are not sufficient to create long-term deterrent effects if not accompanied by cultural changes and education.