Jakarta (ANTARA) – Open trials are the largest obstacle in resolving online gender-based violence cases, Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network’s (SAFEnet) Ellen Kusuma stated.
While delivering her speech in a seminar entitled Identifying and Fighting against Online Gender-based Violence on Tuesday, Kusuma explained that open trials have become an obstacle due to the psychological pressure it puts on the victim.
Because open trials allow the public to be spectators, this could discomfort the victims, even causing them to be afraid to resolve the case using the court system.
“Resolving online gender-based violence, which falls under sexual violence, requires special procedures and attention,” Kusuma said. For online gender-based violence, the regulations that are used to resolve the case is found in the Information and Electronic Transaction Law (UU ITE), in which trials are conducted openly.
Kusuma added that beyond the open trial, another problem that would cause victims of online gender-based violence to not report their cases is a lack of evidence.
“When victims receive threats, psychologically, they would be afraid and erased any photos or evidence,” Kusuma said. There are also other problems that the victim has to face to resolve online gender-based violence cases, such as the difficulty in reporting the case due to the perpetrator’s use of fake identities and the lack of experts that could connect online gender-based violence to UU ITE.
To this end, Kusuma expressed hope that the government would ratify the Sexual Violence Elimination Bill (RUU PKS) so that it would become the law and assist victims of online gender-based violence.
Based on data from the National Commission on Women (Komnas Perempuan), there has been a 920 percent increase in the number of online gender-based violence cases during the pandemic.
The number of reports that Komnas Perempuan received concerning online gender-based violence has reached 329 cases during the pandemic.
Source: Antara News