Puan Emphasises That Sexual Violence Must Not Occur in Higher Education

JAKARTA - House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani has emphasised that cases of sexual violence must not occur anywhere, including in higher education institutions.

This assertion was made in response to a sexual harassment case involving 16 students from the Faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia (FH UI).

“Sexual violence must not occur anywhere. We must continue to reject it, and every case must be adjudicated fairly. The world of education must also play a role in providing proper education so that all parties can protect each other,” said Puan at the parliamentary complex in Jakarta on Thursday (16/4/2026).

She firmly stated that the world of higher education has an important role in preventing sexual violence.

Therefore, the world of education must become a place of respect for others and character building.

“This is a shared concern in the world of education. It must be evaluated, everything must be discussed openly, and sexual violence must not occur anywhere,” said Puan.

“Everything must be evaluated and discussed openly. Clearly, sexual violence must not occur anywhere,” Puan emphasised.

It was previously reported that 16 students from the Faculty of Law at UI admitted to committing online sexual harassment against 27 victims through conversations in WhatsApp and LINE groups.

The Chair of the Faculty of Law Student Executive Body (BEM) FH UI, Anandaku Dimas Rumi Chattaristo, said that the case came to light after the perpetrators issued an apology in the class group.

Several hours later, a social media post appeared explaining the background of the actions.

“Most of it was in the form of demeaning messages with a sexual nuance,” said Dimas.