ILRC Demands Severe Punishment for Perpetrator of Woman's Abuse in Bandung

Jakarta - The Indonesian Legal Resource Center (ILRC) has strongly condemned the case of false imprisonment and abuse suffered by a woman with the initials YT, allegedly perpetrated by her boyfriend, identified as TH, in Bandung Regency, West Java.

ILRC Researcher Tri Febi Maharani stated that the organisation views this incident not merely as a criminal act of assault, but as a form of gender-based violence against women demonstrating a pattern of control, domination, and isolation, which has the potential to escalate into gender-based murder of women, or femicide. The organisation is urging law enforcement officials to arrest and severely punish the perpetrator.

Tri Febi Maharani emphasised that the case must not be seen solely as an assault. Various forms of violence, whether physical, psychological, sexual, or economic, in dating relationships often occur in stages. The pattern began with the victim being isolated from her social environment and family, not being allowed to hold a mobile phone, being confined, and suffering repeated physical violence.

This series of actions demonstrates a pattern of coercive control, namely the use of various forms of violence and intimidation to control the victim’s life and eliminate her freedom as an autonomous individual. As a result of the abuse, the victim suffered permanent disabilities, including the loss of her eyesight and the ability to walk. This indicates the perpetrator’s attempt to incapacitate the victim’s ability to defend herself, escape, seek help, and live independently.

‘So she couldn’t run, couldn’t report, couldn’t be independent, which ultimately strengthened her dependence on the perpetrator for life and death. This is extremely cruel,’ Tri Febi Maharani said.