JAKARTA: A top university in Indonesia has suspended 16 law students over alleged sexual harassment, with the government on Wednesday (Apr 15) pledging zero tolerance for all forms of violence on campus.
The case involving students from the University of Indonesia (UI) has gone viral online and placed the institution under growing public pressure and scrutiny, according to local media reports.
At least 20 students and seven lecturers were targeted in a student chat group containing inappropriate content, according to a legal representative of several purported victims, local media reported.
Screenshots of alleged conversations in the group trended on social media platform X on Sunday, showing messages that included vulgar remarks, sexually explicit jokes and the objectification of female students and lecturers, according to news outlet The Jakarta Post.
The 16 alleged perpetrators have been suspended from Apr 15 to May 30 this year, according to news outlet Tempo. During this period, they are barred from participating in all academic activities, including lectures.
They are also not allowed to be on campus premises except for investigation-related purposes conducted by the university’s Violence Prevention and Handling Task Force, or urgent matters supervised by the university.
The university said it is closely monitoring the situation to prevent any direct or indirect interaction between the alleged perpetrators and victims or witnesses during the investigation process.
“This step is taken as part of the university’s commitment to ensure that investigations are carried out objectively, to protect all parties involved and maintain a conducive academic environment,” said Erwin Agustian Panigoro, director of public relations, media, government and international relations at UI on Wednesday, as quoted by Tempo.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/universitas-indonesia-sexual-harassment-law-students-suspended-6060216
