A step towards fulfilling the promise for sexual violence survivors

Indonesia’s Government Regulation No 61/2014 on Reproductive Health, also referred to as the Health Law, and the Ministry of Health (MoH) Decree No 3/2016, legalizes elective abortion services, training of abortion providers, and the development of safe abortion protocols for cases of rape.

However, when submitting this proposal, there was no guidance from the government on implementing this law. Also, at the time of developing this project, survivors of sexual violence seeking safe abortion care and the clinical service providers providing this service were both subject to criminal charges under Indonesia’s legal framework despite the Health Law.

Due to IPAS Indonesia’s experience piloting a standard operating procedure with the National Police Force to support the provision of comprehensive SRH care for survivors of sexual violence at a provincial hospital, we identified an opportunity to work with the National Police Force, CSO allies, and other government key stakeholders to create an environment within the public sphere that was support of the decriminalization of safe abortion for sexual violence survivors. This would be done by strengthening CSO alliances and movements beyond traditional sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) CSOs, claiming civic space through the support from partners in media and allies in Parliament, and engaging in the process of developing and piloting a National Police Force SOP on sexual violence that will ensure timely access of comprehensive SRH care for sexual violence survivors, including the elective termination of unintended pregnancies at 5 Polres (District or City police station), and ensuring accessible pathways for legal support service in case survivors and providers are subjected to criminal charges.

Implementation of the Project DARE (Decriminalization of Abortion for Rape) started slower than planned. However, the slower start allowed for ample time for our main advocacy target, the Jakarta Police Force (Polda Metro Jaya, which will further be named PMJ) to feel ownership of the project.

During the initial stage of this project, the project was not only able to improve the current Standard Operational Procedure (SOP) for Violence Against Women and Children but also revise the Technical Guideline, which stipulates the immediate and timely referral to comprehensive health services to prevent and address unwanted pregnancy. The launching of both documents in February 2022, by the Head of PMJ, Irjen Pol. Dr. Drs. Mohammad Fadil Imran, M.Si initiated a series of capacity-building activities for police investigators of the Special Unit for Women and Children’s Protection in the police stations within DKI Jakarta Province and the surrounding areas/Greater Jakarta. Due to the high demand from the PMJ for specific capacity building on sexual violence, IPAS found additional funding to expand the number of Polres participating in the SOP pilot from 5 to 13. Overall, 168 people were trained in the new SOP and Value Clarification and Attitude Transformation (VCAT) activities compared to the originally planned 25 people.

Assessments were conducted to understand the status of CSO advocacy and communication messaging to strengthen civil society alliances/ movements and advocacy. Findings from the assessment informed the development of an advocacy strategy with CSO partners. Additionally, from the assessment, 4 communication messages were created for advocacy campaigns. To orient the media on these communication messages, informational sessions on VAW/VAC for media stakeholders were conducted, along with identifying eight recipients of a journalism fellowship. The project, with the support of media partners, mentored these Fellows and gave them access to experts, practitioners, and policymakers. The Fellows developed a total of 9 publications and, through key media allies, published 3 joint reports on the criminalization of safe abortion for survivors of sexual violence, bringing to light the importance of SRH care for survivors and how the government has not fulfilled their commitment to ensuring services are provided as outlined in the Health Law.

Implementation of this project took place during a very dynamic period, with COVID still a significant public health challenge and with the government undergoing a process to revise the Penal Code and the implementation of the Health Law 2023. Being flexible and open to adapting to the evolving public health and political environment was critical for implementation. The evolving political environment included a rise of anti-right and anti-abortion movements within the country, increasing stigma on project issues, reinforcing the importance of mobilizing civic society, and improving knowledge of people’s health and legal rights. Despite the challenges, the project galvanized civil society and established a platform for collaborating with 22 CSOs from diverse backgrounds on various ways to advocate for safe abortion. Additionally, the roll-out of the standard operating procedures within the National Police Force has resulted in new mechanisms to improve the management of GBV cases, such as developing a standardized referral format from the police to health facilities for VAW&C cases including sexual violence cases and influencing the revision of the SOP used in the juvenile justice system. The project’s monitoring efforts of the implementation of the SOPs have also resulted in the referral hospitals improving their integrated services for VAW&C cases. The adoption and roll-out of the SOP is a significant outcome of the project and continues to impact the criminal justice system for the better. By the end of this project, all 13 Polres under the PMJ jurisdiction were implementing the SOP.

An unintended outcome was the development of an unofficial learning community organized for the police VAW&C investigators to exchange learning on the application of the SOP when receiving sexual violence cases and further learning on Law No. 12/2022 on Sexual Violence Crime. Investigators from all 13 Polres have participated in this learning community, and it has been reported that investigators have increased confidence in providing rapid referrals to designated health facilities for services. These investigators will become champions of the SOP and will model to their peers empathetic and survivor-centered care for survivors of sexual violence. Through the ongoing monitoring of the implementation of the SOP and these champions nationwide scale-up is feasible.