Learning from the Bandung Confinement Case: Recognising the Signs of an Unhealthy Relationship

A woman with the initials YTR (29) is alleged to have been a victim of confinement and abuse by her boyfriend at a boarding house in the Cileunyi area, Bandung Regency, West Java. As a result of the incident, the victim’s body was covered in wounds and she is at risk of losing her eyesight.

This case demonstrates that Gender-Based Violence against Women (KBGtP) in the personal domain remains a serious problem. According to records from Komnas Perempuan throughout 2025, 376,529 cases of KBGtP were documented, with the personal domain still dominating at 337,961 cases, or 89.76 percent of the total.

Komnas Perempuan Commissioner Sondang Frishka Simanjuntak stated that the confinement case in Bandung is a clear illustration that intimate relations remain the most vulnerable space for women. Violence in the personal domain is also typically more closed off and difficult to detect.

According to Sondang, one of the main causes of the high rate of gender-based violence against women in personal relationships is the power imbalance that remains deeply rooted in personal relations. "Many intimate relations, such as husband-wife partnerships, dating relationships, and former spouses or partners, are still built on patterns of control, domination, and the assumption that a partner or even an ex-partner has the right to regulate, restrict, or even possess a woman’s life," Sondang said when contacted by Republika on Friday (19/6/2026).

She explained that when this pattern is normalised, various forms of violence—physical, psychological, sexual, and economic—become more likely to occur. This confirms that violence against women is not merely an individual issue, but a structural one.

"Social norms that tolerate violence, a culture of victim-blaming, economic dependency, and barriers to accessing legal protection cause many women to remain in unsafe relationships and struggle to escape violent situations," Sondang said.

According to Sondang, in many cases of intimate partner violence, extreme acts such as confinement do not usually appear suddenly. There is often a pattern of control built gradually from the beginning of the relationship, such as restricting the victim’s social interactions, monitoring her activities, isolating her from family or friends, and making the victim feel emotionally dependent on the perpetrator.