UI Law Students' Conversations and the Boundaries of Criminal Sexual Violence in the Digital Space

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Conversations laden with sexual harassment in messaging apps among students from the Faculty of Law at Universitas Indonesia (FH UI) have come to public attention. What are the boundaries of criminal acts in the digital space?

Those 16 FH UI students engaged in harassing conversations in WhatsApp and LINE groups, impacting 27 victims.

On one hand, this case has sparked public scrutiny as it is seen to demonstrate forms of sexual objectification in communication among law students.

On the other hand, experts remind that not all actions deemed morally inappropriate can automatically be processed as criminal offences without meeting strict legal elements.

Criminal Law expert from Universitas Trisakti, Albert Aries, asserts that in cases of sexual violence, victim protection must be the top priority in every stage of case handling.

This principle has been affirmed in Law Number 12 of 2022 on Sexual Violence Crimes (UU TPKS), including in aspects of examination during trials which must prioritise confidentiality and victim safety.

“Without diminishing the best interests for victims of sexual violence, Article 58 of UU TPKS stipulates that the examination of Sexual Violence Crime cases is conducted in closed sessions,” said Albert to Kompas.com on Thursday (16/4/2026).

“This provision should serve as a standard for examinations in other ‘courts’, with the aim of not causing re-victimisation to victims of sexual violence who are entitled to guaranteed confidentiality of their identity as regulated in Article 69 of UU TPKS, as well as obtaining recovery,” he stated.

Regarding the substance of the conversations in that group, Albert Aries assesses that the content of the communication is unjustifiable from social and ethical perspectives.

This becomes even more serious because the allegedly involved parties are educated individuals who should understand prevailing norms and values.

“The substance of the conversations in the chat group among students in that high court environment certainly must not be normalised, let alone justified by religious, decency, and moral values, as it leads to sexual objectification, sexism, and even misogyny towards women,” said Albert.