Kennial Caroline Laia – When renowned poet Sitok Srengenge was accused last November of sexually assaulting and impregnating a 22-year-old student at the University of Indonesia, the local literary scene flared up in a near-unanimous denouncement of one of its own and demanded an immediate investigation.

Three months later, police have yet to question Sitok, while his alleged victim and her family have been quizzed multiple times.

Saraswati Dewi, the UI lecturer who has been assisting the victim since the case came to light, says she deplores the investigation's glacial progress and highlights claims by two other women who said that they were sexually assaulted by Sitok as all the more reason to resolve the case.

That the issue even made it as far as the police is itself a sign of progress, say activists from the National Commission on Violence Against Women, or Komnas Perempuan, who point out that the vast majority of sex abuse cases go unreported.

The commission said last December that there were on average 35 cases of sexual abuse a day in the country. In most cases, the perpetrators are people who are close to the victim, including a relative, a religious figure, teacher or government official – figures of authority who, as Sitok is alleged to have done, prey on their victim's trust and confidence in them.

Arimbi Heroeputri, a Komnas Perempuan commissioner, says the high prevalence of sex crimes against women is widely misunderstood by society because much of it take place within relationships with a trusted male figure who would not be expected to exploit the woman.

"We've found that violence often starts from bullying [and later develops into] rape," she tells the Jakarta Globe.

"It is unfortunate that we do not have any framework regulation on violence in dating," she says, noting that sex crimes where the victim and perpetrator are not married to each other are often blamed on the woman for "inviting" the attack through promiscuous behavior. "The only thing victims can do is to keep a documentation of the acts," Arimbi says.

She says it is important for the government to put more effort in dealing with the issue of violence against younger women to minimize the impacts of the crimes on their lives.

"Imagine if a girl in her early teens experiences such violence. How is she supposed to bear with it her whole life? They cannot let this happen," Arimbi says. "Our future generations should not be victims and perpetrators of such crimes. This is the problem of the nation."

In Sitok's case, the victim has been reported as suffering from psychological issues as a result of the alleged sex assault by the poet. "At first, no one paid attention to the issue because the victim refused to speak up as she was depressed" after discovering that she was pregnant, says UI's Saraswati.

Arimbi cites Sitok's case as an example of the abuse of power prevalent in most relationships between perpetrators and victims of sex crimes, saying he allegedly wielded his "superiority" as a famous writer to demand sexual favors from the victim.

"An abuse of power in an unbalanced relationship such as in Sitok's case should push government officials to put together a policy to bridge the power gap," Arimbi says.

"I'm not saying young women are the only ones exposed to sexual harassment – all women are vulnerable to this, and that's why it's important to draft regulations on this issue. The country shouldn't only focus on things like terrorism and corruption. Sexual violence should also be prioritized as a major issue in Indonesia."

Sex crimes, she says, affect not just the victims. "It is a societal issue, it's a national matter," she says. "An open communication and social solidarity are needed. It's not just about morality or religion."

'The weaker sex'

Amanda Margia, a psychologist, says Indonesia's patriarchal tradition has long influenced the values taught within families, where men are regarded as more powerful, and hence more dominant, than women.

"For instance, boys are allowed to climb trees, but girls shouldn't," she says, adding that women often play into this stereotype of the "weaker sex."

"In religion, the notion of male dominance is also very evident, with most leadership posts in various religions around the world being held by men," Amanda says. "So most women subconsciously or automatically accept themselves as being the weaker being."

She says this subjugation often compels women to remain silent when they are subjected to sexual abuse, because of fears of a societal backlash over their perceived role in "eliciting" the abuse.

"People should start to be more open about abuse victims' complaints," Amanda says, adding that blaming women for being at fault in sex abuse or rape cases is a deeply flawed way of seeing these cases.

She agreed that in Sitok's case, there were indications of a power play between the accused, an acclaimed literary icon, and the victim, a much younger, and therefore impressionable, university student.

"Younger women mostly place themselves at a lower level than men. It's inevitable. Saying 'no' is almost impossible because of the men's perceived dominance," Amanda says.

She says victims of sex crimes can take years to recover from the psychological trauma of the incident, if at all, and that the role society played in either supporting or blaming her was a key factor in the success of her recovery.

"The victim's closest relatives have to be in full support of her, raise her spirit and confidence, and not hurt her by blaming her for the incident," Amanda says, underlining the urgent need for women to seek counseling in order to be encouraged to speak out.

She also says it is important for victims to have the support of a psychologist when being questioned by police – another figure of authority, often male, whose very presence might compel an unaccompanied victim to recant her statement. "The situation may get worse if the official at charge is a man," Amanda adds.

Not exempt from patriarchy

Ayu Utami, an author and colleague of Sitok's at the Salihara arts community, where the poet until recently served as a curator, acknowledges the power imbalance in society between men and women, but says it is a natural state of being.

"Biologically speaking, women are indeed more vulnerable than men. However, this vulnerability is fostered by humans as a weakness that can be exploited by the dominant party," she says. She denies that Sitok used this power balance to abuse the victim, saying that would imply that she was socially inferior to him.

"Activists say it is an abuse of power. But I have a different opinion of the case," Ayu says, emphasizing that such a view only amplifies the notion that women are objects and the perpetual underdogs of society. "We have to be careful not to stereotype all women as the weaker party."

She also defends the prevalence of sex crimes in Indonesia as no different from any other country or culture. "It happens around the world and it is normal. It happens any time and anywhere," she says. "It can also be found in religion. No society is exempt from patriarchy."

Wisnu Suryapratama, a spokesman for the alumni association of UI's School of Culture Studies, accuses the Salihara board of not taking a firm stand against Sitok, given its long history championing equal rights for all. "He used the institution's name and his position as a curator to manipulate the victim," Wisnu says of Sitok.

But Ayu refutes the notion, saying Salihara "has its own ethics" and could not dismiss Sitok immediately after the revelations emerged. "We also understand that the things Sitok is accused of doing are contrary to the mission and values that we stand for, so that's why we accepted Sitok's resignation as curator," she says.

She says his insistence that he had consensual sex with the victim cannot be used as justification for the alleged abuse. "It is too narrow a view and it's important not to see things from such a point of view as we may lose sight of the bigger picture," Ayu says.