MPs Condemn Vulgar Chat Group Scandal at UI Law Faculty
Several members of the law and education commissions in the DPR have united in condemning the alleged sexual harassment case via a vulgar chat group that implicates 16 students from the Faculty of Law at Universitas Indonesia (FH UI).
They are demanding that the university and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology take decisive action. The legislators view the case as unjustifiable and intolerable.
Deputy Chair of Commission X of the DPR RI, MY Esti Wijayanti, has urged UI to impose strict sanctions on the 16 perpetrators. Esti insists that the case be handled under the UU TPKS.
“What the perpetrators have done fulfils the elements of sexual violence as defined in the UU TPKS. And the perpetrators themselves are law students who should be more sensitive and aware of the legal consequences,” said Esti when contacted on Wednesday (15/4).
In the UU TPKS, she explained, sexual violence is categorised into several types. One of them can take the form of electronic-based sexual violence, with a maximum criminal penalty of 4-6 years’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to Rp200-300 million.
Therefore, Esti encourages the victims to take the case to the criminal realm.
“By implementing strict sanctions in accordance with the UU TPKS, we hope that society, particularly in the academic environment, will not allow such incidents to recur,” she stated.
Member of Commission X from the PKB Faction, Habib Syarief Muhammad, has urged the Ministry of Education to intervene. He highlighted similar cases at other universities in quick succession, from Universitas Budi Luhur involving a lecturer to Untirta.
He is pushing for a total evaluation of the prevention and handling systems for sexual violence in higher education, including strengthening regulations and safe reporting mechanisms for victims.
“The handling of cases must not be done partially and left entirely to individual universities. This has become a national issue that requires intervention and comprehensive policies from the government,” he said.
Member of Commission III of the DPR in the legal sector, Abdullah, views the phenomenon of harassment and sexual violence at several universities as a systemic problem. He encourages the involvement of independent institutions such as Komnas Perempuan and Komnas HAM in the evaluation and handling processes.
According to Abduh, his familiar name, a comprehensive evaluation must be conducted on activities, traditions, and interaction patterns that potentially contain elements of sexual harassment.
“This is a momentum for a total evaluation. All activities and traditions in the education environment must be reviewed to prevent them from becoming spaces for the normalisation of sexual harassment,” he stated.
FH UI has held an internal hearing for its 16 students who are perpetrators of sexual harassment. The hearing, broadcast live on several social media platforms, was tense and ended in chaos.
UI Rector, Heri Hermansyah, reaffirmed his commitment to combating every case of harassment and sexual violence on campus. Heri said he had only recently learned of the information and is still awaiting a report from the faculty.
He assured that the handling process is proceeding according to procedure. UI, he added, is committed to creating a safe campus environment free from sexual violence for the entire academic community.
“But I have also been following it in various media. The Dean of the Faculty of Law has responded. So later at the Rectorate, we will monitor how the handling is at the faculty,” he said.