Indriani, Raka Adji, Jakarta – Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Minister Nadiem Anwar Makarim has emphasized that his ministry has never supported the practice of free love or fornication.
The minister made the statement in response to allegations by several parties that the Minister of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology Regulation (Permendikbudristek) Number 30 of 2021 on Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence in Higher Education supports free love or fornication.
"We reemphasize that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has never supported free love or fornication. The accusation of supporting free love occurs because the phrases (in the regulation) are being taken out of context," he explained at a virtual event here on Friday.
One of the goals of the regulation is to ensure safe and comfortable education for academic communities, he said.
"The focus of the Permendikbudristek is to counter the sexual violence pandemic on campus," he added.
The preparation of the Permendikbudristek on Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence was among the longest because it took 1.5 years and more than 20 discussion sessions, public tests, harmonization that involved many parties, the minister said.
The regulation is aimed at fulfilling the rights of safety in education for everyone, he said. Furthermore, the Permendikbudristek aims to tackle sexual violence with a constitutional and sustainable approach, he informed. This is because the substance of the regulation provides legal certainty for higher education leaders to take firm action, he added.
According to Makarim, the issuance of the Permendikbudristek is needed since currently, there is no clear legal umbrella for cases of sexual violence on campus. Therefore, university leaders face difficulties in taking firm action, he said.
To tackle sexual violence, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology has urged universities to prepare a special task force for the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence in the near future.