The organisations make up Gerak Perempuan include the Indonesian Independent Journalists Association (AJI), Kartini Indonesian Women’s Action (API Kartini), the University of Indonesia Student Executive Council (BEM UI), the University of Indonesia Law Faculty BEM, the Jentera School of Law BEM, the Grace Community Church (GKA), the International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID), the Confederation of United Indonesian Workers (KPBI), the Cross-Factory Labour Federation (FBLP), the National Trade Union Confederation (KSN) and the Indonesian Trade Union Congress Alliance Confederation (KASBI).

The action, which started at 3 pm, was joined by dozens of people. The protesters brought posters with their demands and applied health protocols by maintaining social distancing and wearing masks.

The group plans to continue holding Tuesday Actions (Aksi Selasaan) in front of the DPR on Tuesday each week until the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence (RUU PKS) is ratified.

During the first action today, an open letter was sent to President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and DPR Speaker Puan Maharani urging the DPR to restart deliberations on the RUU PKS and enact the law as soon as possible.

In a statement, Gerak Perempuan made the following demands:

1. That the DPR revoke the decision to remove the RUU PKS from the 2020 Priority National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) and immediately restart deliberations on the law.
2. That the DPR not use the corona virus pandemic as a pretext to nullify data which proves the urgency of the RUU PKS for all Indonesian citizens.
3. That all government officials and related institutions such as the Ministry for the Empowerment of Women and Protection of Children and the National Commission on Violence Against Women pressure the DPR to enact the RUU PKS.
4. That the DPR pursue its mandate to enact legislation which protects the ordinary people and to prioritise the RUU PKS, not legislation which benefits investors such as the Draft Omnibus Law on Job Creation.

Gerak Perempuan also called those in wider society who are against sexual violence and support the enactment of the RUU PKS to stand in solidarity with them by:

1. Monitoring the deliberations of the RUU PKS by holding actions every Tuesday between 3-4.30 pm in front of the DPR or their local Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) until the RUU PKS is passed into law.
2. Establish collectives to strengthen, advance and embolden the fight for civil rights, particularly the rights of victims of sexual violence, including establishing collective referral systems for victims of sexual violence wherever they may be. (hr)

Protest rally in Yogyakarta demands ratification of sexual violence bill

On Tuesday July 14, pro-democracy and gender equality organisations and individuals in the Central Java city of Yogyakarta from the Enact the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence Alliance (Aliansi Sahkan RUU PKS) held took to the streets to peacefully demand the immediate ratification of the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence.

The group started the action a 3pm with a rally in front of the Yogyakarta Regional House of Representatives (DPRD) bringing posters with messages such as “Enact the RUU PKS” and calling on the state to immediately pass the RUU PKS into law.

Peaceful actions were held simultaneously in three cities on Tuesday including Jakarta, West Java and Yogyakarta.

The simultaneous RUU PKS actions were sparked by a decision by the House of Representatives (DPR) to remove the RUU PKS from the 2020 National Priority Legislation Program (Prolegnas).

This is despite the fact that the number of sexual and domestic violence (KDRT) in society are rising, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This can be seen from data released by the online publication Tirto.id on the women’s crisis centre Rifka Annisa which has seen a two-fold increase in complaints on violence against women and children since the pandemic started.

Instead of the state using the high rate of sexual violence in Indonesia as the grounds for enacting the RUU PKS, the state has instead enacted laws such as the Mineral and Coal Mining Law (UU Minerba) and is continuing to deliberate the Draft Omnibus on Job Creation.

Both of these laws will further benefit capitalist and oppress the ordinary people, the working class and employees.

During the peaceful action between 3-4 pm the protesters handed out propaganda leaflets on the urgency of immediately enacting the RUU PKS.

Quite a few members of the public near the action asked about the RUU PKS with the majority saying they did not know about the law.

As a result, in addition to urging the state to immediacy enact the RUU PKS, the action was also used to provide as much information as possible to the public about the draft law.

The protest was also an act of solidarity with the survivors of sexual violence which have been left in limbo by the legal process. According to the National Commission on Violence Against Women’s (Komnas Perempuan) 2020 annual report, there were 14,719 cases of sexual violence against women throughout Indonesia.

Providing information to the public is no less important because this relates to the organisation of the masses. In urging the state to ratify the RUU PKS mass pressure is needed, and only through mass action will this demand be won.

At the end of the action, the Enact the RUU PKS Alliance agreed to hold protest actions in front of the DPRD every Tuesday until the RUU PKS is passed into law. (mg)

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Arah Juang is the official newspaper of the Socialist Union (PS)

James Balowski Translation.

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