Komnas Perempuan: YTR Case Cannot Yet Be Categorised as Torture Under UN Convention

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has stated that the severe abuse case experienced by a 29-year-old woman with the initials YTR in Bandung, West Java, cannot yet be categorised as an act of torture as defined by the United Nations Convention against Torture.

Komisioner Komnas Perempuan, Sondang Frishka Simanjuntak, explained that although the victim endured severe suffering, further investigation is needed to confirm whether the elements of torture as stipulated in the convention have been met, particularly regarding state involvement or negligence.

‘For the YTR case, we need to convey that we cannot yet view it as a case of torture under the definition of the Anti-Torture Convention. The convention requires that the act is intended to cause extraordinary pain for a specific purpose, such as obtaining a confession or discrimination, and there must be state involvement,’ Sondang said in Jakarta on Friday.

According to her, the element of severe suffering is clearly visible in the case. However, Komnas Perempuan is still investigating whether there was negligence by local government officials or law enforcement officers that would fulfil the element of state involvement.

‘What we need to examine now is whether there was neglect by the local government, for instance regarding the boarding house, or by law enforcement if the victim had tried to report her case but it was not followed up. That is where we can see state involvement through omission, which would then bring it under the category of torture according to the Anti-Torture Convention,’ she stated.

Sondang said Komnas Perempuan has deployed a team to Bandung to conduct an in-depth investigation into the case. The team’s findings are scheduled to be presented to the public in the coming days.

Based on preliminary findings, Komnas Perempuan assesses that the case experienced by YTR constitutes severe, premeditated abuse that occurred repeatedly and resulted in serious impacts for the victim. ‘At this point, what we can see in the YTR case is that severe, planned abuse indeed occurred. The abuse was carried out continuously and caused severe impacts, even resulting in disability,’ she said.

Komnas Perempuan is also urging for a comprehensive medical examination of the victim to ascertain whether there were elements of sexual violence. This step is considered important so that all alleged criminal acts can be uncovered and charged against the perpetrator.