Marrying Rape Victims to Perpetrators Only Chains Them to Lifelong Trauma

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The practice of marrying victims of sexual assault to their perpetrators is considered not a solution but a form of institutionalised violence. Clinical psychologist Noridha Weningsari emphasises that this step only prolongs the victim’s trauma and has the potential to cause more severe psychological impacts. This statement is reflected in the case of a woman with initials JSLP (20) who was briefly detained by authorities for allegedly attempting to commit suicide in front of the gates of Merdeka Palace, Central Jakarta, on Sunday night (22/3/2026). Further investigation revealed that JSLP was a victim of sexual assault in 2023. However, the case did not proceed to legal proceedings after the victim was married to the perpetrator by agreement between the two families. In the marriage, JSLP also experienced domestic violence. From the perspective of psychotraumatology, assault or rape is a traumatic event that damages the most basic sense of safety, both towards one’s own body and towards others. When the victim is then married to the perpetrator, the victim never truly escapes the source of their trauma. “What occurs is prolonged trauma exposure or chronic traumatic exposure. This keeps the victim’s nervous system in a state of alertness (hyperarousal), because the threat never truly disappears,” she continued. This condition leaves the victim living in constant fear. Instead of recovering, the trauma deepens because there is no truly safe space separating the victim from the perpetrator. Noridha also stresses that post-assault marriage cannot be seen as a way out to mitigate trauma. Based on various literature on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), trauma worsens if the individual continues to be exposed to the same trigger without a sense of safety.