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Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) Executive Director Damar Juniarto. (ANTARA/Sanya Dinda) - 

Victims of online gender-based violence (GBV) can experience psychological and material losses, Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet) Executive Director Damar Juniarto stated.

"There are victims, who have to pay tens of millions, so that their personal photos are not distributed. Online gender-based violence is a real form of violence that can harm the victim psychologically and materially," Juniarto noted in an event, Friday.

Online GBV has become the most reported among cases of violence to the Jakarta chapter of legal aid society for women (LBH Apik) from November 1, 2020, to October 30, 2021, with the case count totaling 489.

However, out of the total, only 25 cases were reported to the police, and merely two cases were processed in court.

"The not-yet effective protection from online gender-based violence cannot be separated from the fact that violence against women is a legal issue that is most often neglected," he emphasized.

To this end, online GBV should be viewed to be as dangerous as other types of gender-based violence.

If online GBV persists, Juniarto believes that over time, it would potentially fuel the assumption that women should desist from expressing themselves on social media.

"It is the same as locking women in a home and not allowing them to socialize because we are afraid that they will be physically abused. Hence, we have to admit that Indonesia is in an emergency situation in terms of online gender-based violence," he remarked.

Moreover, Juniarto assessed that collective efforts at the international level are deemed necessary to ensure that social media corporations and governments partake in eliminating online GBV. In addition, the legal umbrella that protects victims, such as the passage of the sexual violence prevention bill (RUU TPKS), should be ratified immediately.

"The government needs to include the eradication of online GBV in the efforts to eliminate violence against women,” he stressed//ANT