Make Healthcare Facilities Safe Public Spaces Free from Sexual Violence

Responding to the Rise in Sexual Violence in Healthcare Facilities 

“Make Healthcare Facilities Safe Public Spaces Free from Sexual Violence” 

 Jakarta, May 21, 2025 

The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) expressed concern and condemned the rampant rape and sexual violence that occurs in health facilities. These actions are a violation of the right to feel safe, the right to health, and the right to be treated with dignity. The series of incidents that have come to light recently, starting from the rape by a Resident Doctor in Bandung to sexual harassment by Doctors in Garut, Malang, and Jakarta, again show that health care facilities that should be safe spaces are being neglected. As a result, they can become places that threaten sexual violence, even by medical and health workers who hold positions of scientific and professional power and trust in the eyes of the public. 

Komnas Perempuan emphasizes that sexual violence in the health sector is a violation of human rights, professional ethics, and public trust in health services. Komnas Perempuan noted that in the last five years (2020–2024), there were at least 11 cases of sexual violence in health facilities reported directly to Komnas Perempuan. These cases involved perpetrators from various medical backgrounds, including general practitioners, specialist doctors, and health workers, specifically nurses. The types of violence reported included physical sexual harassment and rape. Perpetrators abused their power, knowledge, and professional skills; closed spaces that were not monitored; and weak internal oversight systems in health facilities. 

Komnas Perempuan believes that the prevalence of sexual violence in healthcare facilities reflects a serious systemic problem, particularly the failure to establish an adequate protection system for healthcare users. The absence of prevention and response mechanisms, weak oversight of professional ethics, as well as a culture of silence and impunity for perpetrators contribute to the recurrence of violence. This situation will undermine public trust in healthcare facilities as public spaces that should be safe, especially for patients and their families. 

Komnas Perempuan reminds us that Law No. 17 of 2023 on Health explicitly stipulates that every individual has the right to receive safe, high-quality health services free from violence. This law also includes the principle of respect for human dignity and the obligation of medical/health personnel and health care facilities to respect, protect, and fulfill patient rights. 

Furthermore, Komnas Perempuan emphasizes that medical and healthcare workers have a legal and ethical obligation to ensure that healthcare facilities are safe from sexual violence. This is emphasized in Minister of Health Regulation No. 42 of 2018, which underlines the importance of respecting patient dignity, protecting privacy, and ensuring the safety of all health service users. This obligation is strengthened by Indonesian Medical Council (KKI) Regulation No. 4 of 2011, which regulates the standards of discipline and professional behavior that must be upheld by every doctor. Furthermore, Law No. 12 of 2022 on Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence establishes a comprehensive legal framework for the prevention, treatment, and recovery of victims of sexual violence in all settings, including healthcare facilities as public spaces. 

Health facilities, as part of public services, must ensure a system that guarantees not only medical standards, but also protection from all forms of violence, including sexual violence. Failure to comply with the provisions of these laws and regulations not only harms the victim personally, but also violates the state's constitutional mandate to guarantee the right to safety, justice, and adequate health services, as mandated in Article 28H paragraph (1) of the 1945 Constitution which states that every person shall have the right to live in physical and spiritual prosperity, to have a place to live, to enjoy a good and healthy living environment, and to obtain medical care. Moreover, Article 28G states that every person shall have the right to protection of themselves, their family, their honor, their dignity, and their property, and has the right to feel secure and receive protection from the threat of fear. 

Komnas Perempuan calls on all stakeholders in the health sector to consider these cases of sexual violence as a stark warning to ensure immediate improvements and transformation in health facilities. Health facilities should be safe spaces, respecting the dignity of every service user and every person within them, as well as free from violence, including sexual violence. Comprehensive protection for victims, strict enforcement of professional ethics, and institutional accountability must be implemented to create a health system that is just, gender-responsive, inclusive, and upholds human rights. Komnas Perempuan emphasizes the importance of a systemic and transformative approach to preventing and handling sexual violence in health facilities, to ensure fair and comprehensive protection for the victims. 

Therefore, Komnas Perempuan conveys the following stance and recommendations: 

1. Expresses full support for the victims who have spoken out and encourage other victims to report and obtain their rights as guaranteed by various existing laws and regulations. 
2. Rejects “veiled impunity” that simplifies sexual violence as merely individual acts or the actions of “rogue individuals”. This obscures the structural roots of sexual violence, which are caused by unequal power relations, a deeply rooted patriarchal culture, and weak accountability within institutions, including the medical field. 
3. Encourages the government and all relevant stakeholders to ensure the fulfillment of the rights of victims of sexual violence as stipulated in Law No. 12 of 2022 on Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence, which includes the right to legal and psychological assistance, physical and mental recovery, restitution and compensation, as well as protection from stigma, discrimination, and revictimization throughout the legal process and thereafter. 
4. Encourages the Ministry of Health to establish a national policy on Sexual Violence-Free Areas and integrity zones in all health facilities, which includes the development of prevention and response mechanisms with a rights-based and victim-centered approach. The steps include: the development of clear policies aligned with national and international standards such as the Indonesian Code of Medical Ethics (KODEKI) and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines; a reporting mechanism that is safe, accessible, and confidential, as well as protects reporters from intimidation and retaliation; a victim-centered standard operating procedure (SOP) for prevention and complaint handling; and regular training on the dynamics of power relations in the profession and issues of sexual violence. 
5. Urges law enforcement officials to carry out legal processes for sexual violence cases transparently, quickly, and with a victim-centered perspective, as mandated in Law No. 12 of 2022 on Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence. Komnas Perempuan also emphasizes that the resolution of sexual violence cases should not be carried out through non-judicial mechanisms such as restorative justice, because this is contrary to the principle of justice for victims and can ignore the comprehensive recovery that is the victim's right according to Article 23 of the Criminal Acts of Sexual Violence Law which states “Sexual Violence Crimes cannot be resolved outside the judicial process, except where it involves a child perpetrator pursuant to the applicable laws”. 
6. Encourages professional medical and health workers organizations to strengthen their internal ethical and disciplinary systems, including establishing special mechanisms for the prevention and handling of sexual violence with a victim-centered perspective. 

Resource Persons: 

1. Ratna Batara Munti 
2. Yuni Asriyanti 

Contact Person:  

Elsa Faturahmah (081389371400)