Golkar Highlights Sexual Harassment Cases: Campuses Fail to Protect Students
Chairman of the Golkar Party faction in the Indonesian House of Representatives, Muhamad Sarmuji, has highlighted the alleged sexual harassment cases that have recently occurred within university settings. Sarmuji described the cases reported at universities as a form of alarm regarding student protection.
“This is no longer just a case of one or two individuals. This is a loud alarm that campuses have failed to fulfil their basic function as a safe educational space. If cases continue to recur across various higher education institutions, it means there is something systematically wrong, and campus leaders are unable to create an atmosphere that protects students,” Sarmuji stated in his comments on Monday (20/4/2026).
Sarmuji said that many students choose to remain silent due to power relations with rectors, deans, or lecturers. He stressed that campuses must be safe places, not intimidating ones.
“Students are in a vulnerable position. When protection is absent from the institution, the campus becomes a frightening place rather than a place of learning,” he said.
This Golkar Secretary General emphasised that the sexual harassment occurring in several cases must not recur. He called for comprehensive improvements by the campuses.
“We must no longer normalise such incidents. Every case is an institutional failure,” he said.
Sarmuji then touched on the iceberg phenomenon in sexual harassment cases. His side requested clear sanctions against students involved in harassment cases.
“What is revealed to the public today is only the tip of the iceberg phenomenon, appearing as just a portion of the actual occurrences,” Sarmuji said.
“A clear sanction mechanism needs to be considered. If a sexual harassment case occurs at a campus, the leadership cannot wash their hands of it. That is an indicator of leadership failure,” he added.
He also urged the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology not to stop at regulations but to ensure effective implementation and supervision across all higher education institutions. He reminded that campuses must be safe spaces, not ones that fill students with fear.
“Regulations already exist, but their implementation is weak. What is needed now is the courage to enforce the rules and protect victims. Campuses must return to being safe spaces, not spaces filled with fear,” he revealed.
It is known that social media has recently been abuzz with an alleged sexual harassment case by 16 students from the Faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia (FH UI) in a group chat. UI has taken steps to temporarily deactivate those 16 students during the ongoing examination process.
Most recently, IPB has also affirmed its commitment regarding the alleged sexual harassment on campus. This follows 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 that group veered towards sexual harassment. The campus side immediately conducted an investigation into the allegations.
In another case, Padjadjaran University (Unpad) temporarily deactivated a lecturer suspected of being involved in a sexual violence case within the campus environment. Unpad stated that the victim is no longer studying at the campus.
“Regarding the follow-up, I do not have any update information yet; tracing is being carried out,” said Unpad’s Head of Public Relations, Dandi Supriadi, when asked for confirmation on Saturday (18/4/2026).
“The victim is no longer studying at Unpad,” he added.