Landmark Bill to nip sexual violence

Thumbs up!: Indonesia’s parliament approved a far-reaching law setting punishments for sexual violence after being spurred into action by a recent case in which a boarding school principal raped and impregnated several students. — AP

THE parliament has passed a long-awaited Bill to tackle sexual violence, aimed at providing a legal framework for victims to secure justice in a country where sexual abuse has often been regarded as a private matter.

A majority of lawmakers backed the Bill at the plenary session in parliament yesterday, overcoming opposition from some conservative groups in the world’s biggest Muslim majority country after six years of deliberation.