Friday, August 25, 2017

Sexual Assault

Sydney, 13 August 2017

Here in the University of Sydney, sexual assault has been a serious crime. So, if some of Indonesians say that the number of rape in western countries is actually high, probably those people are wrong in defining what rape is.



Since the first time I came to Sydney, one of the topics delivered in the university orientation day was about sexual assault. The key to determine whether it is a sexual assault or not is a "consent". If both parties consent to sex, it is not a rape. If one of them does not consent, or is unable to consent (such as gets drunk or unconscious), it is a rape. People in here are respecting others.

Meanwhile in Indonesia catcalling seems to be a norm. When a woman is considered to be too sexy in men's perspective, it is the woman who has to be blamed. Why don't those men clear up their dirty mind before oppressing women to cover up. Women are considered to fully belong to men after they married and are not allowed to refuse their husbands' request to sex. They think the forced sex by a man to his wife is not breaching law since they are bonded in marriage and the man thinks he has a right to have a sex with his wife at anytime he wants. Isn't it actually a rape? Rape can actually happen within a marriage.

The definition of rape is not whether they are married or not, but whether they both consent or not. This is actually where Indonesians have been so wrong. The victims, most often, are forced to marry the rapist to solve the problem. They think, by marrying the rapist with the victim, they become a legal married couple that can take responsibility to what has happened. 

Another common rape practice in Indonesia is marrying underaged girls. Underaged girls are considered not mature enough to make an adult decision, including consent to sex. Pedophilia is a serious crime in western countries.