Karina’s (not her real name) handphone rang for several times.  Some undetected numbers called her and invited her for a date. The terror had been started since 24 April 2018. Accidentally, her privat number was hijacked by anonymous person. Her number was promoted in the online prostitution accounts which existed in several online dating application. Karina experienced sexual harassment terror, through phone-call, video call, and whatsapp messages from the people who want to utilize the online prostitution service. The such condition made her personal life and her career as an activist were disturbed (LBH Jakarta, 2019). 

On the next following day, Karina reported her case into the Police station. Her cased was very lately handled. And she also had been chopped up by the police with the question whether she was an important person. Finally, the suspected perpetrator can be arrested at the end of 2018 and was firstly put on trial on 1 April 2019; almost a year after the terror happened. The perpetrator was a political opponent of Karina. 

However, when accusing the perpetrator, the General Prosecuting Attorney was still using the articles which often use to criminalize women who become victim of sexual violence, instead of using the more appropriate articles. The main article that was used  to ensnare the perpetrator was Article Number 27 verse 1, Article 45 verse 3 related to the content that violating decency with the subsidiary Article Number 27 verse 3 jo Article 48 verse 2 related to defamation from Law Number 19 Year 2016 on the Revision of Law Number 11 Year 2018 on the Information and Electronic Transaction (ITE). 

What had been experienced by Karina is a kind of Online Gender Based Violence (Online GBV). Apparently, the technological development also produced new forms of gender based violence that impacted to the danger or physical,  mental, or sexual suffering in which this kind of violence were facilitated by the use of technology. The violence action in online GBV covered the intention or purpose to harass the victim of violence based on their gender or sexuality in online domain.. 

Catagories of Online GBV 

SAFEnet explained six activities that are categorized as Online-Gender Based Violence (GBV). First, is the violation of the privacy or personal matters, for example to access, use, manipulate, and spread of the personal data (photo or video) without knowledge and consent of the victims. In addition to that,  to explore and spread the personal data of somebody with the intension or purpose to give access for criminal action (doxxing) also part of this category. Second, supervision and control , such as to track and watch over online and off-line activities, stalking, or using the GPS or another geo-locator to track the target movement. Third, to destroy the reputation or credibility, for example to create and to share the incorrect personal information with the purpose to destroy someone’s reputation, to manipulate and to create the fake contents, and also to steal identity and to pretend acting as if that person. 

Forth, harassment (that can be followed by the off-line harassment), for example the repeated harassment through unwanted message and contact, hate speech and the posting in social media with the specific target on certain gender or sexual identity, provocation to the physical violence, and the use of inappropriate online picture on content to degrade women or other gender. Fifth, threaten and direct violence, for example to women by utilization of technology through sexual blackmail, identyity theft, and imitation or impersonation that can cause physical attack. Fifth, attack targeting to certain community such as by hijacking the website, social media, email of an organization, or community with the evil intention, direct threat of violence to certain  community or organization members,  mobbing and intimidation or harassment by a group people,  and also blowing up information about somebody whose name had been hidden away. 

The Impact of Online-GBV 

Karina is not the one and only victim of online gender based violence. Some other public figures were also targeted.  Let’s say Via Vallen (a Dangdut singer), she also became a victim of cyber harassment done by a soccer player. Vallen was uncomfortable with the situation. She uploaded the conversation that harass herself in the social media and gave information that she felt harassed.  Respond on Via Vallen’s action brings pro and cons. Some of the people supported her, but the other people criticized her and accused her for finding the stage. The public understanding related to the sexual harassment to women looks like still very narrow, because the victim who should be supported and strengthen, precisely seen to be blamed and harassed. 

There was also Nagita Slavina, Gisela Anastasya, and Marion Jola. The three of them we accused as the players in porn video that had been spread of to the public just because of them seemed have the similar faces. All of them should give clarification, while the mass never stop blaming them to acknowledge themselves are perpetrator. Although some people considered that they were not perpetrators, but the evil comments continued to fill their social media account. 

According to SAFEnet, the impact of Online-GBV was not only destroy the psychological condition of the victim, but also put them socially isolated. The victims tent to pull out themselves from their environment and felt embarrassed. In addition to that, the victims were economically injured because of them can lose their job or retire from their job because of the feeling of frustration. The moving space of the victims also become more limited, their participation in online or offline space being disturbed. Finally, the victims do not have trust to the digital world. Furthermore, online GBV also contributed to the online sexism and mysoginistic culture. The harassment and online-GBV are harmful to women and other gender minority by limiting their capability to obtain the benefit from online activities, such as job, promotions, and self-expression. In several cases, the online-GBV also claimed the life of the victim. 

As reported in Kumparan.com, one of online-GBV case that claimed a life of a person was the case of Amanda Todd in 2012. The case that happen in Canada was viral after Amanda was found died because of suicide. Before doing the suicide, Amanda made a very touching video that she uploaded to Youtube. The video told about her melancholy life. Amanda was a student in British Columbia Canada, she was almost 15 years old. Her young teenagers age, drove her to build relationship with many people, including finding the spouse. Amanda then tried a chat room application that made her know men from around of the world. 

While doing the video-chat, the perpetrator ordered Amanda to show part of her body. Unfortunately, what had done by Amanda then will be utilized to attack her. The perpetrator did the black-mail to Amanda. Her photo and video remain spread in the virtual world. So many people harassed her. And Finally she pulled out herself from her environment and family. The girl then stopped her education until finally she was found died in her house because of suicide. 

The Legal System Had Not Been Take Side to the Victims of Online-GBV 

Baiq Nuril become the victim of online-GBV that had been criminalized by the perpetrator. The case that she experienced was a sexual harassment that she obtained through the telephone network. The case started from the boss of the institution where she worked before, did the sexual harassment through 20 minutes phone-call. Unfortunately, the case she experienced precisely came back as boomerang to her.   She was reported by the perpetrator with the accused of Article 27 verse 1 of Law on Internet and Information Technology; so she was sentenced guilty and threat by  6 month jail punishment and had to pay fine about 500 rupiahs,   and even her Cassation was rejected by the Supreme Court. The case that happened to Baiq invited the sympathy and encouraged several parties to do advocacy for her so she can be free from the bondage of the law. Baiq can be free from the law punishment after passing a very long process and obtain the amnesty from the President. 

Amnesty from the President was not an achievement, but an evidence that the legal system had not been taking side to the perspective of victims, so that the victim has to pass the long way to access the justice. The situation can make the victims who experienced the similar case will be reluctant to speak out,  furthermore the victim has to pass the difficult legal process.

Up to now, the legal system in Indonesia had not been suitable to ensnare the perpetyrator of online-GBV. Usually, if the online-GBV was brought to the positive law arena, so the law that will be use is Law on Information and Electronic Transaction,  Law on Defamation, Law on Fraud, and the most dangerous one is the Law on Pornography. Even though the laws did not come from the background cases of  injustices against women. Furthermore, Law on Pornography which often also criminalize and blame women victims of violence. For example that happened to VN in Garut which was traded by her husband,  she was also suspected as perpetrator after the sexual video widely spread and became viral. 

In addition to the legal system that are not suitable, the awareness raising to the public on the online-GBV issue was still very low. The common people usually neglected their personal data information. Tirto.id  reported that LBH Jakarta or Jakarta Legal Aid received around 5000 reported cases on the misuse of personal data, and for some cases those personal data were used by the perpetrators to perpetuate the sexual harassment action. While, the other cases were on harassment and online debt bondage. 

One of the country that concern enough to fight against online-GBV was Australia. On 2018, Australia experienced a sexual harassment emergency phase namely revenge porn, in which 1 of 5 women in Australia were victims of revenge porn. To handle these cases, the government of Australia had moved quickly by issuing a law that purposed to protect their citizen from the people who distributed the online intimate nonsensual picture and video which is known by the revenge porn by entrusting the law on civil and criminal codes. 

In addition to that, Australia also provided a special sites or call-center for the victims of revenge porn to report their cases. The sites had several functions such as: 1) to accept complaints from the public and for erasing the revenge porn content in the internet. 2)to become the site to report the people who misuse the visual content material to the security officer 3)to provide supports for the victims and to lead the family/friends to help the survivors 4)to provide information related to the legal process and to obtain the legal aid. 

Indonesia had not been as fast as Australia to handle the online-GBV cases.  But this country has so many elements that can play active roles in preventing and tackling the online-GBV cases. At the individual level, for example, we can enrich the knowledge on online-GBV so we can avoid the case. In the community level can be done by giving support and help the victims of online-GBV to obtain access to help. In the country level, National Commission on Anti Violence Against Women and Women Legal Aid had been active in raising awareness on online-GBV issues and advocated the online-GBV cases; but the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection should be more active in campaigning the prevention of online GBV more comprehensively. In addition to that, the house of parliament should produce more gender responsive laws and policies.  While the law enforcers, attorney, also must see women in their subjective views and based on women’s own experience. Those parties should also ensure the access to justice for women dealing with the legal and law system.  { Editor}

 

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