Confidentiality of the Identity of a Crime Victim
Complying with the regulations that ensure identity confidentiality for victims is the responsibility of us all.
Some time ago, the public was flooded by news and broadcasts that clearly identified the victims of sexual violence.
In the alleged sexual assault that occurred at Pondok Pesantren A in Jombang, the announcement of the wanted perpetrator included the full names of the five victims, who were all students at the Islamic boarding school.
In the case of sexual violence at the Selamat Pagi Indonesia (Good Morning Indonesia; SPI) Malang school, a podcast broadcast the voices and images of the victims, even though they were wearing masks. In the “shooting incident” at the residence of a police chief, the identity of the victim and alleged sexual harassment was revealed by print and online media. The private identities of the victims were disclosed by agencies, podcasters, and journalists; perhaps with the consent of the victims, perhaps not.
In fact, publicly disclosing the identities of victims of sexual violence carries significant negative impacts. Therefore, a number of regulations and ethical guidelines prohibit it. What should be done to comply with the regulations that guarantee privacy for a victim's identity, and whose responsibility is it?
Negative impacts
One negative impact is that victims can be traumatized by reading, seeing, and/or hearing news or broadcast coverage about sexual violence that reveal their identities.
Based on the LPSK’s experience in assisting hundreds of victims, the victim’s trauma has an effect on the legal process, namely the legal process needs to wait until the victim is psychologically ready, so the information they provide is accurate. It is necessary to ensure that the victim witness is in a state of good physical and mental health when giving their testimony. If the victim is not psychologically healthy and the legal process continues, justice will fail.
Waiting for the victim until they are mentally ready can affect the duration of the legal process, and this is justified by law. Victims of sexual violence, such as in the form of revenge porn or nonconsensual sharing of intimate content, always experience severe trauma, and many have tried to commit suicide when their identities were published.
A victim’s trauma is also correlated with their recovery process. The more traumatized the victim, the longer their recovery. According to the LPSK’s experience, victims who suffer from trauma need a long period of counseling; some need 50 counseling sessions. Victims of revenge porn almost always experience severe trauma and the trauma becomes even more severe when they are charged with violating Article 29 of the Pornography Law and Article 45(1) of the Information and Electronic Transactions Law, even though they are actually the victim.
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> Alarm of Sexual Violence Emergency
Victims’ long recovery process is a valuable lesson for agencies that are responsible for assisting victims of sexual violence. Adequate allocation of resources, not assuming that a one-time allocation will instantly complete the process, is necessary. That is the hope of all victims of sexual violence.
Some media and broadcasting professionals sometimes forget to conceal the identity of the victim when publishing or broadcasting news with an aim to draw public attention. Considering that the negative impacts are not small, it is time for media and broadcasting professional to leave behind the “no viral, no justice” paradigm and switch to “the best viral way to gain justice”.
In order to ensure that confidentiality is maintained for the identity of a victim of a crime, in several developed countries in Europe, the victim is given a temporary new identity during the legal process. Their real identity is kept under tight wraps to ensure their easy access to many things in the future, such as education and work.
Regulations
Law No. 31/2014 is the parent regulation on the protection of witnesses and victims in Indonesia, and stipulates that victims of criminal acts have the right to identity confidentiality and to a new identity. If the victim of a crime is a child, Law No. 35/2014 stipulates special protection for children throughout the legal process, including not publishing their identity. If the crime is domestic violence, Law No. 23/2004 stipulates that the victim has the right to receive special treatment in keeping their identity confidentiality.
Law No. 12/2022 on the crime of sexual violence (TPKS) stipulates that interrogations connected to TPKS cases are held in closed sessions. Among its aims is to prevent the victim's identity from being exposed (see Article 58). Even though the judicial panel may read the verdict in a TPKS case in a public trial, it is obliged to keep the identities of witnesses and/or victims a secret (see Article 59, Paragraph 2). In fact, the court must conceal any information concerning the identities of witnesses and/or victims in the court ruling or verdict (see Article Paragraph 3). Article 69(d) expressly stipulates that victims’ rights include guaranteeing identity confidentiality.
It is time for all circles, including podcasters and broadcasters, to always remember and obey these regulations in their work.
Identity confidentiality for victims of sexual crimes is also guaranteed in the Press Law. Article 7 (2) of Law No. 40/1999 on the press stipulates that journalists must comply with the Journalistic Code of Ethics (KEJ). Article 5 of the KEJ stipulates that Indonesian journalists must not mention or broadcast the identities of victims of immoral crimes or of juvenile perpetrators of crimes. Identity refers to all data and information concerning an individual that makes it possible for others to track that individual.
The broadcasting regulation also stipulates the same thing. Indonesian Broadcasting Commission Regulation No. 01/P/KPI/03/2012 on guidelines for broadcasting behavior stipulates that broadcasters must comply with the provisions that prohibit and/or restrict of violent programs (see Article 17). The prohibition of broadcast programs containing violence includes programs about sexual violence, which includes a prohibition on exposing the identities of victims of sexual violence.
It can actually be said that the regulation on guaranteeing identity confidentiality for victims of sexual violence is sufficient. It is time for all circles, including podcasters and broadcasters, to always remember and obey these regulations in their work.
Following the law
Following the law is the responsibility of all parties, be they institutions, society or the public, or individuals. Law No. 12/2022 on TPKS stipulates community participation in the prevention, assistance, recovery and monitoring of TPKS.
Indeed, this law does not explicitly provide a legal umbrella on community participation in complying with the prohibition on exposing the identities of victims of sexual violence, but its ethos should be used as inspiration to comply with this prohibition. Article 85 on public participation in disseminating legislation on TPKS needs to be given meaning in relation to familiarizing the prohibition.
Public participation in the form of submitting complaints to the Press Council needs to be encouraged, especially if the press does not comply with the prohibition on identifying the victim. Complaints followed by the Press Council’s supervision could be an effective way to increase regulatory compliance. As per Article 15 (2) of Law No. 40/1999, the Press Council has several functions, one of which is to oversee the implementation of the KEJ. The Press Council can also involve Media Monitors to monitor reports that violate the prohibition on identifying victims of sexual violence.
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> Protection against Sexual Violence
If broadcasters do not comply, the public can complain to the KPI. Article 50 of Law No. 32/2002 on broadcasting stipulates that the KPI is obliged to oversee the implementation of the broadcasting code of conduct and receive complaints on violations of the broadcasting code of conduct. Article 17 of KPI Regulation No. 01/P/KPI/03/2012 stipulates that broadcasters must comply with the provisions on the prohibition and/or restriction of violent broadcast programs.
In the context of broadcasters, it is still necessary to create regulations for podcasters, including clarifying their jurisdiction, so that podcasts fall under the jurisdiction of the Press Council, the KPI or another institution. Podcasts can actually help draw the public’s attention to something that deserves it, but it urgently needs a number of regulations to minimize negative impacts, including regulations on behavioral guidelines, codes of ethics and the like.
Complying with the regulations that ensure identity confidentiality for victims is the responsibility of us all. In order to achieve compliance, synergy and cooperation are urgently needed. The LPSK, as an independent state institution, can be at the forefront of realizing this synergy and cooperation to ensure that victims' right to identity confidentiality is guaranteed, as mandated by Article 36 of Law No. 13/2006 on the protection of witnesses and victims.
Antonius PS Wibowo
Antonius PS Wibowo, Deputy Chairman of the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK)
This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.
