Considering the important role of advocates in assisting victims of sexual violence cases, the Indonesia Judicial Research Society (IJRS) with the support of The Asia Foundation (TAF) and The United States Department of States – Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) organized the activity “Training: Capacity Building of Advocates related to Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence (TPKS Law)” at Santika Premiere Slipi Hotel on June 26-28, 2024. The training activities were attended by 78 (seventy-eight) advocates from representatives of 4 (four) advocate organizations, namely: Indonesian Advocates Association (AAI), Indonesian Advocates Congress (KAI), PERADI Rumah Bersama Advokat (PERADI RBA), and PERADI Suara Advokat Indonesia (PERADI SAI).
Through this training, IJRS is committed to strengthening the capacity of advocates who have a gender perspective. This training targets several aspects, namely understanding related to gender perspectives, understanding related to various criminal offenses regulated in the TPKS Law and other sexual violence crimes in other laws, knowledge of formal law that is newly regulated in the TPKS Law, understanding related to psychological perspectives in assisting victims of sexual violence, and understanding appropriate restorative justice. We hope that this training can provide support and continuing legal education for Advocate Organizations.
This training was also welcomed by the Ministry of Women and Children Empowerment by delivering a keynote speech at the opening of the event represented by Mr. Agung Budi Santoso, AP, M.H. as Assistant Deputy of Policy Formulation for the Protection of Women’s Rights. He explained the implementation of the TPKS Law, the existing conditions of derivative regulations after the enactment of the TPKS Law, including the importance of capacity building for law enforcement officials to maximize the implementation of the TPKS Law. Entering the core agenda of the training, in order to develop and maximize varied training methods, this training activity was facilitated by two facilitators namely Rival Ahmad, S.H., LL.M. and Erni Setyowati, S.H., M.H., both of whom are Lecturers at the Indonesian College of Law Jentera (STHI Jentera).
In terms of substance, this activity invited and presented qualified lecturers to provide understanding and strengthen perspectives on the issue of sexual violence, including:
- Uli Pangaribuan, S.H (Director of LBH APIK Jakarta), explained about gender, gender injustice, and gender-based violence;
- Susilaningtias, S.H., M.H (Deputy Chairperson of LPSK), explained about the rights of victims, victims’ families, and witnesses in the TPKS Law;
- Erni Mustikasari, S.H., M.H. (Head of the Administration Section at the Secretariat of the Deputy for Coordination of Law and Human Rights, Kemenko Polhukam), explained the introduction to the TPKS Law, the explanation of the TPKS Law articles, and the intersection of the sexual violence articles in the TPKS Law with other laws;
- Dr. Rita Wulandari Wibowo, S.I.K., M.H. (Police Inafis Examiner Madya Tk. III, Bareskrim POLRI), explained the specificity of procedural law in the TPKS Law;
- Siti Aminah Tardi, S.H (Commissioner of the National Commission on Violence Against Women), explained about the assistance of witnesses, victims and perpetrators of sexual violence;
- Nathanael Elnadus J. Sumampouw, M.Psi., M.Sc, (Chairperson of the Indonesian Forensic Psychology Association) explained about the assistance of witnesses, victims and perpetrators of TPKS from a psychological perspective;
- Andreas Nathaniel Marbun, S.H., LL.M (IJRS Researcher), explained about the application of restorative justice in the TPKS case.
We hope that there will be more training related to handling and assisting cases of sexual violence to law enforcement officials. This is because sexual violence is a form of violence and treatment that degrades human dignity, violates human rights, contradicts divine and human values, and disturbs the security and peace of society. As a form of Indonesia’s commitment to the protection and elimination of all forms of sexual violence, the government and the House of Representatives (“DPR”) have passed the TPKS Law as a special regulation and material and formal legal basis in cases of sexual violence crimes. In the context of enforcing the TPKS Law, Advocates as an honorable profession (officium nobile) have a crucial role, namely to oversee and ensure the enforcement of the handling of sexual violence criminal cases that respect the value of human dignity, non-discrimination, prioritize the best interests of victims, and uphold the values of justice, expediency and legal certainty.
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