A majority of lawmakers backed the bill at a plenary session in parliament, overcoming objections from some conservative groups in the world’s largest Muslim-majority country after six years of deliberation.
“We hope that the enforcement of this law will deal with cases of sexual violence,” said speaker Puan Maharani.
The bill has been widely welcomed by activists, although some oppose it because of its limited scope, which covers only certain sex crimes, and its omission of a specific provision on rape without The government has said it will be included in other legislation.
“This is definitely a step forward, while noting that definitions of rape are currently being defined,” said Asfinawati, a law expert at Jentera law school who has assisted victims of sexual violence. provisions in the penal code still need to be made clearer.
The final draft of the law includes prison sentences of up to 12 years for physical sexual abuse offenses, both married and outside, 15 years for sexual exploitation, 9 years for misdemeanors. forced marriage, including child marriage, and 4 years for the crime of circulating non-sexual content.
It stipulates that courts must compel convicted abusers to pay restitution and that authorities provide counseling services to victims.
Under previous proposals, the legislation would also cover abortion and provide a clearer definition of what constitutes rape.
The National Committee on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) and civil society groups first proposed the idea of the law a decade ago, and a bill has already been submitted to the government. the following year.
In January, President Joko Widodo asked his government to expedite new legislation to make it easier to build cases and secure convictions.
One party in parliament, the Muslim Prosperous Justice Party, has opposed the bill, saying it should regulate sex outside of marriage and has called for a ban on trend-based sex. “deviant” sexual orientation.
