Sexual Violence Complaints

The decision to name PC as a suspect in the tragedy of the murder of Brigadier J challenges the claim of sexual violence based on a complaint. This is because PC initially claimed to be a victim of harassment, which was later dismissed.

Then how can institutions such as the Women's Crisis Center (WCC) or P2TP2A or other similar protection agencies, accept or reject complaints of sexual violence?

This article describes the theories and practices of handling sexual violence cases based on complaints in accordance to the science about gender and violence. As a disclaimer, this explanation is limited to the view on violence and the responses to victims’ complaints, rather than about PC’s case that seems to be intertwined with many other issues.

Sexual violence is a matter of action that are felt and understood by the victim as coercion of will by the perpetrator.

The first thing that must be understood is the issue of sexual violence. Sexual violence is not an act that is only related to interference with a person's body and sexual organs, or a matter of forced sex. Sexual violence is a matter of action that are felt and understood by the victim as coercion of will by the perpetrator.

So, the basis for a complaint of violence is the awareness of the victim that the perpetrator has coerced in a subtle or violent way with the aim of controlling, degrading, humiliating, coercing, threatening or conquering someone through ways that target a person's body, sexual organs or appearance.

Also read:

> Preventing Sexual Violence

> The Sexual Violence Bill

In that sense, while a complaint can be filed by another party, the will to file a complaint must come from the awareness and willingness of the victim.

The scope of sexual violence, therefore, is not only in the form of physical disturbances to organs that are interpreted as sensitive for a person, but includes words or actions that the victim feels are degrading, such as whistling, staring or expressions that degrade or control the victim.

Coverage of violence

First of all, violence is not solely focused on the disturbance of a person's physical body or genitals, but covers a wide range of actions that the victim perceives as a personal nuisance. Both physical and non-physical acts that lead to degradation or humiliation, which targets the body, sex organs (biological) and sexuality (cultural interpretation of sex).

Second, sexual violence is only possible in an unequal relationship, whether gender, social, political, or economic, between the perpetrator and the victim.

In such a relationship, the perpetrator is considered to have power, whether physical, economic or other forms of power greater than the victim. For example, it is similar to sexual violence cases experienced by students from their teacher, children from their father/uncle/grandfather, workers from their employer, subordinates from their superior and so on.

When PC admitted to being abused by Brig. J, the first thing that should have been checked was how unequal the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator was. After receiving a complaint, the institution must immediately check the power and relationship between the suspected perpetrator and the victim. The availability of this information remains a prerequisite (e.g. through in-depth interviews with people who knew the perpetrator and victim) even if the perpetrator escapes or is killed.

This is to verify the truth of the victim's complaint and later provide appropriate protection and assistance if the violence had occurred, such as the possibility of experiencing trauma, pregnancy or physical and psychological pain.

Third, the principle that has been tested and is an important step in dealing with complaint-based sexual violence is that when a victim admits to having been sexually assaulted, the first step is to accept the complaint as truth until proven otherwise.

The principle of impossibility, therefore, must be accompanied by a prerequisite that in handling complaint-based violence, the victim must be willing to explain the chronology about the incident no matter how difficult it is.

This principle is based on past cases and has become an approach in many countries that deal professionally with sexual violence. This principle originated from an experience that considers gender aspects, such as values, reputation and shame, which makes it almost impossible for someone to admit to being sexually assaulted. The principle of impossibility, therefore, must be accompanied by a prerequisite that in handling complaint-based violence, the victim must be willing to explain the chronology about the incident no matter how difficult it is.

If after a thorough examination there is no evidence of sexual violence, then the complaint of violence is dismissable at this point. On the other hand, the victim's confession will remain in effect, which means that as long as there is no investigation, the victim's confession will still be held as the truth.

Of course, the victim’s willingness to explain the chronology of the incident must be based on respect for the victim's dignity. For example, what if the victim does not want to talk? In that situation the law applies to the silence of the victim as being sound. This is where experienced counselors, psychologists and the victim's companions become the most important instrument to determine the truth.

They will know the difference between “tears of sorrow” and “crocodile tears”. For this reason, proving the truth must be done professionally by looking at the physical signs, such as a forensic examination of the sperm, the type of injury, looking at the crime scene and other signs as evidence of violence.

Story consistency

In the examination and gathering of facts, the person who claims to be a victim must be able to describe their experience in order to conclude that he or she is a victim. The consistency of the victim's story will be one of the foundations of proof.

In a relationship between husband and wife, the conclusion that the victim has experienced violence can be because the victim refused or resisted with words or by actions, which essentially states that the perpetrator's actions are due to having been rejected by the victim.

This means, in handling complaints based on sexual violence, every confession from a victim must be accompanied by an intensive examination for the truth of the incident.

Receiving a complaint clearly does not mean acknowledging the truth, but accepts that violence has occurred based on the victim's perception. This means, in handling complaints based on sexual violence, every confession from a victim must be accompanied by an intensive examination for the truth of the incident.

Included in the examination is the relation of power between the perpetrator and the victim. These prerequisites indicate that the handling of sexual violence in institutions requires not only empathy, but also professional skills, adequate physical examination tools and an independent investigation by the institution. Thus, the institutions that receive such complaints (such as the WCC) does not become a legitimacy tool to justify or reject complaints of sexual violence.

KOMPAS/JOHNNY TG

Lies Marcoes

Lies Marcoes, Researcher at Rumah Kitab

(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo)