UPN Jogja Students Demand Transparency Over Sexual Harassment by Five Lecturers
Students’ Executive Board (BEM) of UPN ‘Veteran’ Yogyakarta is demanding transparency from the university, calling for the initials of lecturers involved in sexual harassment and the sanctions imposed to be made public.
BEM Chairman Muhammad Risyad Hanafi stated that students accept the sanctions given to the lecturers, with all five proven offenders currently suspended. “We accept the sanctions as part of our collective demands,” Risyad told journalists on Monday, 25 May 2026.
He added that students seek clarity from the university regarding the identities of the accused lecturers and the specific sanctions applied. “We simply want transparency: to know who has been sanctioned, the process followed, and the nature of the penalties,” he stressed.
According to Risyad, the lecturers have been suspended from Tri Dharma activities and are no longer visible on campus. “Reports indicate they are no longer present on campus,” he said.
However, survivors expressed concern over the lecturers potentially returning to teach. “There’s definitely worry if sanctions are only a one- or two-year suspension from Tri Dharma activities,” he noted. Despite mandatory counselling, survivors remain anxious about the effectiveness of the penalties.
“The sanctions are meant to deter offenders, with counselling required before they can return to campus, but this has become contentious,” he added.
BEM is urging the university to be transparent to prevent future sexual harassment incidents in academia.
Previously, UPN ‘Veteran’ Yogyakarta suspended five lecturers for sexual violence, with four suspended for two years and one for one year, based on internal investigations and recommendations from the Task Force for Prevention and Handling of Violence in Higher Education (Satgas PPKPT).
Rector Prof. Dr. Mohamad Irhas Effendi, M.Si., confirmed the process followed established procedures. The university reiterated that academic violence is intolerable, conflicting with its values of safety, dignity, inclusivity, and zero tolerance for abuse.
“Based on Satgas PPKPT’s recommendations, we are committed to ensuring a safe, dignified, inclusive, fair, and violence-free campus,” Irhas said in an official statement on 23 May 2026.
The sanctions, formalised in a Rector’s Decree on 22 May 2026, were for verbal harassment during Tri Dharma activities.
Additionally, one lecturer from the Faculty of Mineral and Energy Technology (FTME), previously sanctioned in 2023, now faces severe administrative penalties due to additional cases unrelated to sexual harassment. Under Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Regulation No. 55 of 2024 and Government Regulation No. 94 of 2021 on civil service discipline, the case is now escalated to the ministry level, risking dismissal from civil service status.