(INDONESIA)
Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News) [Hong Kong]
April 15, 2026
By UCAN reporter
The case involves inappropriate content, discussions targeting female students and lecturers in a chat group
An alleged case of online sexual harassment at a leading state university in Indonesia targeting female students and lecturers with male students posting inappropriate content and discussions in a chat group has raised nationwide concerns.
Rector Heri Hermansyah of the University of Indonesia (UI) in Depok, on the outskirts of Jakarta, confirmed the case was reported in its Faculty of Law and is being investigated by a Sexual Misconduct Prevention and Response Task Force.
“We will continue to monitor the situation,” he said on April 14, adding that they may coordinate with law enforcement authorities if involvement of criminal elements is found.
he investigation began after screenshots of the group chats began circulating online on April 12.
A legal counsel for the victims said that so far, 20 students and seven lecturers within the faculty have filed formal complaints against 16 male law students.
“The victims lived with this for a long time,” lawyer Timotius Rajagukguk said. “Every time they [the victims] entered the campus, they knew the perpetrators could be talking about them, humiliating them, even in their presence.”
The harassment, which was cyber-based and largely verbal, was reported to have taken place over more than a year, he added.
Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) said the case can be classified as “cyber-based sexual violence.”
“This is violence based in cyberspace, as recognized under the Sexual Violence Crimes Law,” Maria Ulfa Anshori, chairperson of the Commission, told UCA News.
She noted that such harassment facilitated through digital platforms is becoming increasingly prevalent in educational settings.
Women’s rights activists said the latest case reflects a wider challenge facing universities in Indonesia, which are required to establish task forces to prevent and respond to sexual violence.
However, the effectiveness of these bodies varies widely and often depends on institutional leadership and cultural willingness to confront abuse openly, they said.
According to the Indonesian Education Monitoring Network (JPPI), sexual violence accounted for nearly half of the 233 cases of violence recorded in educational institutions nationwide between January and March this year.
“This is no longer a matter of isolated incidents,” said JPPI coordinator Ubaid Matraji. “Violence in education has become systemic, with perpetrators often coming from inside educational institutions themselves.”
Azas Tigor Nainggolan, a Catholic lawyer who helps victims of sexual violence, said that educational institutions have a moral responsibility to protect human dignity, particularly that of women and young people.
“Silence and institutional defensiveness in cases of sexual violence can compound trauma and undermine justice,” he told UCA News.
In November 2025, the St. Paulus Catholic University of Indonesia on Flores Island dismissed a senior lecturer who was also a Catholic priest after an internal investigation into allegations of sexual abuse against a female student.
In 2020, the Parahyangan Catholic University in Bandung, West Java acknowledged reports of alleged sexual harassment involving a faculty member.
Those cases led to disciplinary measures and renewed calls for transparent safeguarding mechanisms within Catholic and secular educational institutions across the country.