Universitas Gadjah Mada has numerous experiences in responding to some sexual violence cases on campus. The handling of the Agni case in 2018-2019 gave valuable lessons and experiences for UGM in managing cases of sexual violence that occurred in UGM academicians. To prevent similar cases happened repeatedly, UGM issued a Chancellor's regulation on the Prevention and Management of Sexual Violence by the UGM Community as drafted in Chancellor Regulation No.1 of 2020. This regulation aims to prevent and immediately manage cases of sexual violence, both against victims and perpetrators. This Chancellor's Regulation governs the prevention, service, and handling of perpetrators of sexual violence.
Prof. Bambang Kironoto, as UGM Vice-Chancellor for Human Resources and Assets, said UGM had an integrated service unit that was responsible for taking care of efforts to prevent and handle every case of sexual violence. They will follow up and actively respond to every case that occurs within UGM academicians. Bambang also added that this condition is because, generally, survivors are reluctant to report the cases that happened to them. "It is not easy for the survivors to freely report sexual violence so that later there will be officers who have got the proper training to assist the survivors," said Bambang in Training on Handling Sexual Violence in Strengthening UGM Integrated Service System on Tuesday (12/1).
Additionally, if there is a report, the team from this integrated service unit will provide assistance and counseling to the victims. On the other hand, the perpetrators will soon undergo sanctions from the ethics team at both the faculty and university levels. Bambang said that this integrated service unit aims to properly resolve the cases of sexual violence and make the perpetrators receive appropriate sanctions. "For the UGM community, if similar things untoward happens, we can handle it more immediately, the victim is safe. Also, there would be counseling and further assistance," he said.
Bambang also explained that this regulation aims to minimize cases of sexual violence that occur within the UGM community, both as victims and as perpetrators. "We aspire for a zero-tolerance for sexual violence. If there is a report, all cases can be recorded in this ULT," he said.
In the way to impose the perpetrators' sanctions, university leaders will create a kind of ethics team at both the university and faculty levels. "If there is an incident between perpetrators and survivors within the faculty, then it is the ethics team within the faculty that has to resolve it. But if the cases happened between faculties, the ethics team at the university level will resolve it," he said.
Dr. Wening Udasmoro, as the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences as well as a member of the team outlining the Chancellor's Regulation on Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence Cases at UGM, said that the Chancellor's Regulation could be used as a reference in handling cases of sexual violence in higher educations. According to her, this regulation is considered the first regulation that the university has issued, which is none other than handling sexual violence. "This is indeed the first regulation issued by a university concerning the handling of sexual violence," she said.
She appraised that there might be an increase in sexual violence cases in the campus environment if the university does not handle it properly. Sexual violence cases commonly occur between lecturers and students and between students themselves. "We cannot pretend to be okay to the fact that sexual violence cases are increasing. We need the survivors to report the case undoubtedly. Then after that, we will follow it up as our responsibility," she concluded.
Author: Gusti Grehenson
Translator: Natasa A