Muhammadiyah Chairman Demands Uncompromising Action on Campus Sexual Harassment

Central Board Chairman of Muhammadiyah, Haedar Nashir, has stated that the recent spate of sexual harassment cases emerging from several Muhammadiyah and ’Aisyiyah higher education institutions must be addressed firmly and without compromise. Two recent sexual harassment cases occurred within the environments of Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) and Universitas Ahmad Dahlan (UAD). The alleged perpetrators in each case are a student and a lecturer, respectively. “I have heard and believe that the university leadership is taking serious and very serious steps. And I hope and request that these serious steps be followed up with firm, uncompromising action,” Haedar said at UMY, Bantul, DIY, on Monday evening. He emphasised that uncompromising action is necessary because these incidents concern ethics, morals, and the public sphere, which should be free from issues of demoralisation. “This includes the degradation of the nation’s potential, including drugs and various other problems, which must be a commitment for all educational institutions in Indonesia,” Haedar stated. He expressed confidence that each university leader already has their own guidelines for implementing such firm actions. “The rector has a corridor, a legal corridor, and moral standards, and I believe they already have these normative standards,” he said. The alleged sexual harassment case at UAD occurred during a Community Service Programme. The case went viral via an Instagram post. A student with the initials ACR is alleged to have harassed two female students. The university’s Institute for Research and Community Service has imposed an initial sanction of cancellation and a ban on participating in the programme for two periods. In addition, UAD will impose academic sanctions on the student in accordance with the university’s regulations. The case is still being investigated by the university’s Task Force for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in Higher Education and other relevant units, while the Sleman Police are also conducting an inquiry. Meanwhile, the case at UMY allegedly involves a lecturer from the Pharmacy programme who is accused of verbal sexual harassment via WhatsApp messages. UMY has suspended the lecturer from all academic and non-academic duties pending the outcome of the investigation. Prior to these two cases, another institution under the Muhammadiyah-’Aisyiyah higher education network, Universitas ’Aisyiyah Yogyakarta, had expelled two students proven to have committed sexual misconduct on campus.