VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The Presidential Staff Office has said that the Sexual Violence Crime Bill, which has been ratified into law, is a breakthrough in drafting progressive and non-partisan legislation.

Deputy V of the Presidential Chief of Staff, Jaleswari Pramodhawardani, described the participation model employed by the task force, coupled with strong communication with the House of Representatives, as a best practice, which can be replicated in future legislations.

After six years of discussions, the House of Representatives officially ratified the Sexual Violence Crime Bill, passing it into law during the 19th plenary session on Tuesday.

"The long road to the ratification of the Sexual Violence Crime Bill into law has been successfully (treaded), thanks to the collaboration with (every organ) of the nation, from the legislature, government, other state institutions, civil society, academics, and even the judiciary, all of whom are trying to (assist) Indonesia out of (the dangers) of sexual violence," she said.

The government has also lauded the House of Representatives and the general public who initiated and pushed for the passage of the Sexual Violence Crime Bill.

She informed that the process of drafting the Sexual Violence Crime Bill, which was originally called the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence, had begun in 2016 and was pursued in 2021 by the Task Force for the Acceleration of the Formation of the Sexual Violence Crime Bill, which consisted of cross-ministerial or institutional elements.

There were 8 factions in the House of Representatives—the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle, the Party of Functional Groups, the Great Indonesia Movement Party, National Democratic Party, National Awakening Party, National Mandate Party, Democrats Party, and United Development Party—which approved the bill’s ratification.

The Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction was the only faction that was against the bill reaching level II discussions in a plenary meeting, given its wait for the ratification of the revised Criminal Code.

The Sexual Violence Crime Law consists of 8 chapters and 93 articles and includes 9 forms of sexual violence, ranging from non-physical sexual harassment, physical sexual harassment, forced contraception, forced sterilization, forced marriage, electronic-based sexual violence, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, to sexual slavery.

The law also accommodates inputs from the coalition of the general public, such as the inclusion of a 'victim trust fund' mechanism.

The law also allows community-based service providers to contribute to the process of mentoring and protecting victims of sexual violence, perpetrators of sexual violence to approach victims from a certain distance and a certain time during the legal process, and regulates the rights of victims, victims' families, witnesses, experts, and companions to ensure the victim's rights are met.

However, the two initial proposals for rape and abortion have been excluded from the Sexual Violence Law because rape will be regulated in the Draft Criminal Code and abortion is already regulated in the Health Law. (Antaranews)

As many as 27.9 million Indonesian citizens have received the third or booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Tuesday, the COVID-19 Handling Task Force has reported.

According to the task force data received by ANTARA here on Tuesday, the number of people who have received the booster dose increased by 669,139 on Tuesday, taking the total number of booster recipients to 27,960,917.

Meanwhile, the number of second dose recipients grew by 227,644 to reach 161,761,633.

An increase was also recorded in the number of first dose recipients. Based on the data, the number of people who received the first shot swelled by 119,894 to touch 197,660,336 as of Tuesday.

As part of efforts to boost community immunity against COVID-19, the Indonesian government launched a nationwide vaccination program on January 13, 2021, targeting as many as 208,265,720 citizens across the country.

Spokesperson for the Ministry of Health, Siti Nadia Tarmizi, has emphasized that vaccine stocks are still adequate to vaccinate people and protect them from COVID-19 transmission during Eid mudik (homecoming exodus) activities.

"What we want to emphasize is that the Ministry of Health ensures the availability of vaccines. So, even if there are areas that may be running out (of vaccines), we can assure you that we will immediately refill and distribute them (the vaccines)," she asserted.

To ensure that all family members can join the Eid exodus and carry out Eid activities comfortably, people must get the booster dose promptly, she said.

According to Tarmizi, the booster dose will not only provide protection to people while traveling for the homecoming exodus, but also when gathering with families after they arrive. (Antaranews)

There are at least seven progressive items in the sexual violence law ratified by the House of Representatives and the government, the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) has said.

"In the law, there are seven contents which are considered very progressive with regard to the protection of witnesses and victims," LPSK deputy chair Livia Istania D.F. Iskandar said in a written statement received here on Tuesday.

The first item is related to restitution. The regulation regarding restitution puts emphasis on the responsibility of the perpetrator, starting from demanding payment from the perpetrator, the imposition of a third party, confiscation of the perpetrator's assets, and additional penalties if the perpetrator is unable to pay or in the absence of a third party.

As per the draft law, the state will assume responsibility if the perpetrator is unable to pay restitution, she said. In case the perpetrator is a corporation, sanctions would be awarded in the form of a partial closure of the business, and the business activities of the corporation will be closed for a maximum of one year.

The second item is the regulation of victim trust funds. If the assets confiscated and provided to the victim are insufficient, the state will compensate the victim with restitution decided by court.

Iskandar explained that the victim aid fund can be obtained from philanthropic institutions, communities, individuals, corporate social responsibility, other legal and non-binding sources, and the state budget, in accordance with the provisions of the legislation.

Third, the protection mechanism for victims will be carried out in stages. The first stage is temporary protection by the police, or the victims could apply for protection to the Witness and Victim Protection Agency no later than 1x24 hours. Temporary protection will be provided for a maximum of 14 days.

In terms of arrangements regarding companions for sexual violence victims who have been accommodated, companions could be provided during all phases of examination in the judicial process, with the agency's officers serving as one of the companions.

"The companion must also meet the requirements, both (in terms of) competence, (as in they must) have participated in (relevant) training, and (they must be) of the same sex or gender as the victim," she elaborated.

The fifth item pertains to the examination of witnesses or victims. Some regulations include the reading of police investigation reports should the witness or victim be unable to attend the trial for reasons such as health, security, and safety, among others.

The sixth item is related to the rights of victims, their families, and witnesses. The regulation set in the Law on the Protection of Witnesses and Victims will remain in effect, unless stated otherwise by the Sexual Violence Crime Bill.

"The rights given to victims are the right to treatment, protection, and recovery, of which the procedures are regulated by government regulations," Iskandar said.

Lastly, the law brings up the implementation of integrated services for women and children, which are under the purview of central and regional governments. (Antaranews)

ASEAN nations agreed to utilize the economic recovery momentum to push for financial stability and integration during the 8th Joint Meeting of the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (AFMGM).

In an official statement issued on Monday, Bank Indonesia's Communication Department Executive Director Erwin Haryono said that ASEAN nations emphasized the commitment to strengthen cooperation during the meeting.

This would mitigate economic risks and challenges during the post-COVID-19 period and amid climate change, digital disruptions, and geopolitical tensions.

Representatives of ASEAN nations who participated in the meeting agreed on several priority efforts to encourage financial stability and integration in ASEAN.

One of the efforts is encouraging further integration in the regional financial services sector, including by upgrading the Annex on Financial Services within the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA).

ASEAN nations also warmly welcomed the resolution of the study on ASEAN member states (AMS) entitled Financial Landscape Toward Furthering ASEAN Banking Integration in the Digital Era.

In addition, they also welcomed the Cross-Border QR Code Payment Linkages initiative and the issuance of ASEAN Taxonomy version 1.

The ASEAN central bank initiative to strengthen the sustainable finance agenda through the formation of two work streams under the Senior Level Committee Task Force (SLC-TF) also received support.

"ASEAN nations will also continue the commitment to improve financial inclusion through the strengthening of access, utilization, and quality of financial services within their region," Haryono said.

At the AFMGM meeting, the national representatives also lauded the achievement ofexclusion average level in ASEAN, which has exceeded the target.

Moreover, they welcomed the issuance of the Policy Note on Digital Financial Literacy and Measuring Progress 2021: Financial Inclusion in Selected ASEAN Countries, which supports the move to improve financial inclusion as a whole.

"The completion of the Policy Note on Capital Account Safeguard Measures Recent Experiences and its submission to the International Monetary Fund to enrich the discussion on the Integrated Policy Framework from the perspective of ASEAN member nations was also lauded," he noted.

The adaptation within the meeting was also obtained from the perspective of several international institutions and business world organizations.

The institutions comprised the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

Meanwhile, the business world organizations consisted of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council, EU-ASEAN Business Council, and US-ASEAN Business Council.  (Antaranews)