Law Enforcement Urged to Impose Severe Sanctions on Sexual Violence Perpetrator in Pati

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Member of the Indonesian House of Representatives’ Commission III, Abdullah, has urged law enforcement authorities to impose severe sanctions on AS, the caretaker of Pondok Pesantren Ndholo Kusumo, who is suspected of committing sexual violence against 50 students in Pati, Central Java. “The perpetrator’s position should be to protect, but instead, he has ruined the futures of the students, and this has been done repeatedly to many underage students,” said Abdullah in Jakarta on Monday. Therefore, he strongly condemned the actions allegedly committed by AS. According to him, the perpetrator deserves a life sentence for his barbaric actions. He assessed that a life sentence is important to provide a deterrent effect and prevent similar cases from recurring. “Similar to the case in Bandung, the perpetrator AS can be charged under layered articles, namely the Sexual Violence Eradication Law, Child Protection Law, and the Criminal Code,” he said. He stated that the high number of sexual violence cases in educational institutions is a serious alarm. Based on records from the National Commission on Violence Against Women for the period 2015–2020, pesantrens rank second after universities in complaints of sexual violence cases. On the other hand, he reminded that the state must ensure victims receive psychological support, legal assistance, and protection from intimidation so they can recover fully and continue their education without stigma. In addition to law enforcement, he also urged the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) to conduct stricter monitoring and evaluation of all pesantrens to prevent all forms of sexual violence. “Kemenag must require all pondok pesantrens to have a Task Force for Prevention and Handling of Violence in Pesantrens so that protection for students can be maximised,” he said.