Jakarta – Activists from several NGOs dealing with women's issues on Saturday came out against the much-debated pornography bill, which they claimed would repress women.
The bill, which was drafted in part to protect women from exploitation, would have the opposite effect of placing limits on women's expression and freedoms, the activists said.
"We have always acknowledged pornography as a disease that must be eradicated, but not through a repressive law," said Vivi Widyawati of the Mahardhika Women's Working Group.
The activists say a bill that limits and criminalizes women's sexuality would never bear fruit.
The draft, if passed, would lead to the establishment of the National Anti-Pornography Agency, which would have the authority to fine or arrest anyone it considered to be acting "indecently" or violating the country's "moral code". "The law criminalizes the victims, the ones exploited by pornography, and not the ones who exploit them," said Vivi.
The NGOs fear the national agency, which the NGOs refer to as the "morality police", could be abused by the authorities to meddle in the private lives of citizens in the name of morality. "The government should make use of the laws we already have on the books (to stop pornography)," said Vivi.
She said the laws on child protection, human trafficking and the protection of witnesses, as well as the Criminal Code, already gave authorities the power they need to fight pornography.
Instead of passing this new draft, the NGOs urged the government to focus its efforts on introducing sex education programs in schools to teach children about sexuality, and limiting the distribution and access to pornography, both in the media and on the streets. "Early sex education is urgently needed to help people understand sexuality," said Mariana Amiruddin of Women's Journal Foundation.
The NGOs also believe the draft's definition of pornography is biased and out of line with already existing definitions. The groups themselves define pornography as the "business of sexually exploiting women for commercial purposes". A dictionary definition of pornography would be "the depiction of erotic behavior to cause sexual excitement".
The activists want the government's definition of pornography to contain several specific points, including that women are the main objects, or victims, of pornography, and that women are the victims of sexual abuse caused by pornography.
"There is no fair or effective way to categorize one's values or morality," said Vivi in discussing the moral values used by legislators as their guideline in drafting the pornography bill.
She said women who were drawn into pornography never became involved willingly, but were victims of exploitation. "The problem of victims being pulled into pornography has always been due to multidimensional and multi-interpretational problems," said Vivi, adding that one of the factors included poverty.
The NGOs that united to denounce the pornography bill included Arus Pelangi, Institut Ungu, LBH Apik, Pokja Perempuan Mahardhika, Sekar, Srikandi Demokrasi Indonesia, the National Secretariat of Women's Coalitions and the Women's Journal Foundation, in addition to individuals also concerned by the issue.
"Societies that base themselves on patriarchal thoughts have always considered the woman's body as taboo," said Mariana from the Women's Journal Foundation. "We, women, have always been blamed for man's inability to restrain his sexual desires," she said.