Ministry of Religious Affairs to Request 5,400 Pesantren in Central Java to Form Sexual Violence Task Forces
Over 5,400 pesantren in Central Java province will be requested to form the Task Force for Prevention and Handling of Violence in Pesantren (P2KP). This is in response to a series of sexual violence cases that have occurred in pesantren environments.
The Head of the Early Childhood Education and Pesantren Division at the Central Java Regional Office of the Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kanwil Kemenag), Moch Fatkhuronji, stated that about a month ago, his office had released the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the P2KP Task Force. “This SOP is intended to provide protection and handling of sexual violence in pesantren,” he told Republika on Wednesday (13/5/2026).
According to Fatkhuronji, his office intends to socialise the P2KP Task Force SOP to Kemenag offices at the district/city level throughout Central Java. However, the socialisation process has been hampered by the emergence of alleged sexual violence cases by caretakers against female santri in Pati and Jepara.
“We wanted to socialise it, but because cases keep emerging one after another, our attention has been drawn to those issues,” said Fatkhuronji.
Nevertheless, he assured that his office will continue the socialisation process and monitor the formation of P2KP Task Forces in each district/city-level Kemenag office in Central Java. According to Fatkhuronji, district/city Kemenag offices will later invite kiai or pesantren caretakers to socialise the P2KP Task Force SOP.
“District/city Kemenag offices will conduct socialisation while requesting the formation of P2KP Task Forces in each pesantren so that santri feel safe, comfortable, and protected. So if anything happens, there is a contact that can be reached,” said Fatkhuronji.
Fatkhuronji stated that there are currently more than 5,400 pesantren in Central Java. “There are around 5,400 pesantren in Central Java. In the future, we will encourage the formation of task forces in each pesantren, especially those with many santri,” he said.