Survey: Support for Sexual Assault Victims Remains Inadequate

The government is obligated to provide support services to victims of sexual violence, including through Regional Technical Implementation Units for Women and Child Protection (UPTD PPA).

However, according to a Kompas Research and Development (Litbang Kompas) survey, the majority, or 47.9% of respondents, assessed that psychological support for victims of sexual violence is inadequate.

Furthermore, 35.5% of respondents considered it adequate, 3% very adequate, 8.3% felt there was no psychological support for victims of sexual violence in Indonesia, and 5.3% did not know.

This is regulated in Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence (UU TPKS).

Article 40 of the law states that UPTD PPA, technical implementation units and regional technical implementation units in the social sector, and/or community-based service providers are obligated to provide the necessary integrated support and services to victims.

Support providers include officers from the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), UPTD PPA officers, healthcare professionals, psychologists, psychiatrists, and legal counsel.

"The difficulty victims face in accessing this support indicates that the implementation of the UU TPKS is far from expectations," stated the Litbang Kompas team in their report on Monday, November 11, 2024.

This Litbang Kompas survey involved 540 respondents in 38 Indonesian provinces, selected randomly and proportionally.

Data collection was conducted from October 21-23, 2024, through telephone interviews. The survey's margin of error is approximately 4.21%, with a 95% confidence level, under conditions of simple random sampling.