DPR's Commission X Gives Serious Attention to Cyber Sexual Harassment Cases on Campuses
Deputy Chair of DPR Commission X, Lalu Hadrian Irfani, has spotlighted the emergence of sexual harassment cases through messaging apps that are rampant in several universities. Lalu assessed that regulations and education for all parties regarding such forms of sexual harassment are necessary.
Lalu initially paid attention to the alleged sexual harassment case by students from the Faculty of Law (FH) at UI in a group chat. Similar cases also occurred in the group chats of mechanical engineering and biosystems students at IPB.
“We view the prevalence of violence and sexual harassment cases in the university environment as a very serious matter that must not be tolerated, whether occurring at FH UI, IPB which is currently under investigation, or at Unpad or other campuses,” said Lalu Hadrian to reporters on Friday (17/4/2026).
Lalu stated that the handling of sexual harassment cases in the university environment refers to Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Regulation Number 55 of 2024 on the Prevention and Handling of Violence in Higher Education Environments. Lalu said that it clearly regulates mechanisms for prevention, reporting, examination, and imposition of sanctions.
“We certainly give serious attention and encourage the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology as well as all higher education institutions to implement this regulation firmly and consistently, including ensuring victim protection, process transparency, and fair enforcement against perpetrators without favouritism,” he explained.
This PKB legislator then highlighted cases of sexual violence through online applications. Lalu viewed that in the future, strict regulations are needed regarding cyber sexual harassment to create a deterrent effect for perpetrators.
“It is very necessary to do so; the regulation is actually quite comprehensive, and if the regulation related to cyber sexual violence is still weak, then we urge that all stakeholders sit together immediately to formulate firm and measured regulations,” he said.
It is known that social media has recently been buzzing with the alleged sexual harassment case by 16 FH UI students in a group chat. UI has taken steps to temporarily deactivate those 16 students during the examination process.
Most recently, IPB has also affirmed its commitment to the alleged sexual harassment on campus. This follows up on screenshots of a group chat allegedly belonging to mechanical engineering and biosystems students at Bogor Agricultural Institute (IPB) that circulated on social media.
The content of the conversation in the group veered towards sexual harassment. The campus authorities immediately conducted an investigation regarding the allegation.