Obstacles to the Unresolved Human Rights Cases in Indonesia According to Youth

A survey by the Seventeen Pioneer Foundation (PP17) through Kawula17 reveals several reasons why human rights (HR) issues remain a challenge in Indonesia, according to young people in mid-2025.

The biggest reason is that law enforcement is influenced by money and power, chosen by 47% of young respondents. The research team notes this factor is prominent among women (49%). According to the anger scale, they felt angry (50%) and very angry (56%) when hearing about HR issues.

The choice regarding law enforcement being influenced by money and power increased by 39 percentage points compared to the second semester of 2024. "This indicates a growing awareness among young people of the prevalence of abuse of authority in law enforcement institutions," wrote Kawula17 in its National Benchmark Survey report, August 21, 2025.

Then there's the lack of decisiveness in law enforcement, chosen by 40% of respondents. Kawula17 notes that women (44%) and young people classified as frontliners (50%) in activism showed the highest level of concern regarding this issue.

Other problems include many unresolved past human rights violations, ineffective policies, and a lack of coordination or synergy. The details are as follows:

1. Law enforcement influenced by money and power: 47%

2. Lack of decisiveness in law enforcement: 40%

3. Many unresolved past human rights violations: 34%

4. Prevalence of current human rights violations: 28%

5. Ineffective human rights policies and regulations: 27%

6. Lack of coordination between government agencies: 21%

7. Human rights issues are not a national priority: 20%

8. Lack of synergy among all stakeholders: 19%

9. Other: 0%

10. Don't know: 1%

The survey on the challenges of human rights issues involved 1,303 out of 1,342 respondents aged 17-35. In total, respondents were spread across Java (60%), Sumatra (19%), Sulawesi (8%), Kalimantan (6%), Nusa Tenggara (6%), and others (2%). The gender composition was 49% female and 51% male.

The majority of respondents were private sector employees and civil servants (37%), followed by housewives (16%), students (11%), fresh graduates (9%), and others (26%).

The survey was conducted from July 10-17, 2025, using the computer-assisted self-interviewing (CASI) method, or online survey.

(Read: Indonesian Youth Want the Government to Oversee Law Enforcement Officials)