Yogyakarta – The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) has called on the Press Council (Dewan Pers) to closely monitor and strictly censure media outlets that run inappropriate stories on sexual assault cases against women.

"We have learned that the Press Council has been passive in dealing with this issue. It only makes a move if it receives complaints," said a member of Komnas Perempuan, Andy Yentriyani, on Wednesday.

She said that stories published in the media influenced the investigations of certain cases, adding that the most violations were found in online media. In a rape case, for instance, many media use the euphemism "sexual harassment". "Media should be careful in the terms it uses because this can mislead the police who are handling the case," Yentriyani said.

Such mistakes will also affect public opinion, she added. In many cases, she went on, the victims ended up being blamed by the public, when they should be receiving sympathy.

Ika Ayufrom of the Yogyakarta Women's Network (JPY) also shared a similar thought. "Many media still print the full names of victims. This has caused an increased burden on the victims," said Ika.

Meanwhile, Press Council member Ninok Leksono said the council was actively handling complaints filed by the public.

"We have released guidelines on managing cyber media and have disseminated it in a number of regions. The problem is maybe that the socialization has yet to occur," Ninok said.