Reporting to Police Must Not Be in Vain
Sexual violence must be approached with the aim of restoring the victims. The victims must be the primary focus, because they are the ones whose lives are destroyed.
Bivitri Susanti
The #percumalaporpolisi hashtag topped the trending list on social media a few days ago, when the public was shocked by new reports on the rape of three girls allegedly by their biological father in East Luwu, South Sulawesi.
The shocking act that gave rise to the hashtag was not only the act of rape, but also how law enforcement halted investigations and covered up the case. Formally, the police have dropped the case. Apart from the fact that they considered the case to have insufficient evidence, this was also because the complainant, the mother of the three victims, was said to have a mental problem – something that is unrelated to the main issue in the case, so it should not have been brought up as an excuse.