Sexual-Violence Offenses in Indonesia: Analysis of the Criminal Policy in the Law Number 12 of 2022

In 2022, Indonesia enacted the Law on Sexual Violence Offenses. The Law criminalizes ten acts of sexual violence and categorizes them as criminal offenses. The Law aims to prevent criminal offenses of sexual violence through deterrence, coordination, and monitoring by central and regional law enforcement agencies. The Law adopts both sanctions and treatment in the matter of criminal sanctions. The Law distinguishes types of punishment based on principal and additional penalties, including against corporations. Based on the severity of the penalty, the Law includes indefinite and definite sentences. However, the Law remains weak on restitution that should be action sanctions rather than criminal sanctions and lack of corporate criminal liability regulation. The severity of the penalty that was adopted by the Law should be in the form of indefinite sentences to provide the maximum deterrent effect. In addition, there is a lack of synchronization between the Law and other laws, including the Laws on Human Trafficking, Pornography, and the Elimination of Domestic Violence.