The rise of violence cases within the educational environment has prompted the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) to take action for prevention and intervention. The initial step taken by the Ministry of Education and Culture to address this phenomenon involved establishing a legal framework or regulations for both prevention and intervention.

For the regulation of preventing and addressing acts of violence within educational institutions, the Ministry of Education and Culture promulgated Permendikbud Number 82 of 2015. Currently, these regulations are undergoing revision to ensure their relevance to the prevailing conditions in the field. In the context of tertiary institutions, the Ministry of Education and Culture has also issued Permendikbudristek Number 30 of 2021 and its derivatives, namely Persesjen Number 17 of 2022, which specifically regulates the prevention and handling of sexual violence in tertiary institutions. Statistically, data shows that tertiary institutions are the most susceptible locus for incidents of sexual violence.

The latest efforts made by the ministry for more appropriate and effective prevention and intervention measures include last year’s issuance of Decree Number 144/P/2022 concerning the Working Group on the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Education Sector in 2022. The purpose of this decree is to expedite the implementation of measures against 3 Major Sins: bullying, sexual violence, and intolerance in educational settings. This is achieved through a series of tasks, which are as follows:

1. Planning programs to prevent and address bullying, sexual violence, and intolerance.
2. Implementing programs to prevent and address bullying, sexual violence, and intolerance.
3. Conducting monitoring and evaluation of programs to prevent and address bullying, sexual violence, and intolerance.
4. Continuously developing monitoring and evaluation results.

Permendikbudristek 30/2021 (Permendikbudristek PPKS) was a significant step taken by the ministry, serving as a response to the viral news about a case of sexual violence at a State University (PTN). This regulation also influenced the enactment of other laws, such as Law Number 12 of 2022 (TPKS Law) and Minister of Religion Regulation Number 73 of 2022 concerning PPKS. The issuance of PPKS Regulations has encouraged victims of sexual violence to come forward and report incidents. In 2022, the Working Group on the Prevention and Handling of Violence in the Education Sector directly intervened in a total of 46 cases of sexual violence in tertiary institutions. This intervention involves facilitating the PPKS Task Force in tertiary institutions to handle cases, including imposing sanctions on perpetrators and facilitating victim recovery mechanisms. The imposition of sanctions on perpetrators aims to deter future incidents and prevent their recurrence.

While these various legal frameworks serve as an initial step, they have become a solid foundation for auditors, staff at the Ministry of Education and Culture, and the PPKS task forces at tertiary institutions to proactively prevent and address cases of sexual violence within educational environments. This collective effort aims to prevent the repetition of such incidents and ultimately eliminate or minimize violence that could negatively impact the mental well-being of the nation’s youth.