Religious Affairs Minister: No Tolerance for Sexual Violence
Religious Affairs Minister Nasaruddin Umar has emphasised that his ministry does not tolerate acts of violence and harassment, whether physical, verbal, or sexual, following the exposure of a sexual violence case at a pesantren in Pati Regency, Central Java.
“No tolerance for sexual violence. I have never tolerated in the slightest any actions that harm human dignity,” said Nasaruddin in a written statement on Wednesday, 6 May 2026.
As the Religious Affairs Minister and as a human being, Nasaruddin stated that anything contrary to morality must be a common enemy.
Nasaruddin stressed that educational institutions must be safe and dignified spaces for all students. He also mentioned that the Ministry of Religious Affairs has strengthened regulations and mentoring mechanisms in religious educational units, which will oversee activities conducted by pesantrens and prevent any deviations.
“We have formed a pesantren mentoring unit, where pesantren leaders collaborate to monitor and prevent any deviations that occur in pesantrens,” he said.
The alleged sexual violence implicating a pesantren supervisor in Tlogowungu Subdistrict, Pati Regency, previously went viral on social media after the Pati City Police Resort elevated the case to the investigation stage.
Pati Police Resort named the pesantren supervisor with initials AS as a suspect. The number of victims is said to reach 50 people. The incident is alleged to have occurred from 2020 to 2026.
Pati Police Resort Chief Commissioner Jaka Wahyudi said AS failed to attend the scheduled examination summons on Monday, 4 May 2026. “The suspect failed to appear and was not present for the examination,” said the Pati City Police Resort Chief Commissioner Jaka Wahyudi on Tuesday, 5 May 2026.
Jaka said that after the suspect did not attend the summons yesterday, investigators will directly arrest the suspect. Pati Police Resort investigators planned to summon the suspect for examination and detention yesterday. However, the suspect did not appear. Until now, the suspect’s whereabouts are unknown.