Sexual violence can be experienced by anyone, anytime, and anywhere. Therefore, it is important to know the characteristics of people who are at risk of sexual violence as one of the prevention and protection measures against yourself.
Sexual violence is sexual activity carried out by someone without the consent or consent of the person who is the victim of the act. In the majority of cases, the perpetrators of sexual violence were known to the victim and most of the perpetrators were men.
Sexual violence can be in the form of rape by strangers, rape in marriage or dating relationships, mental and physical sexual harassment, forced abortion, and sexual abuse of children.
Sexual violence also includes sexual comments, either in person or through text messages or sending sexual images and videos. This type of violence is considered a form of human rights violation that can cause physical and mental trauma.
Common Traits of Sexual Violence Perpetrators
Characteristics of someone who has a tendency to commit sexual violence can not always be detected easily. In fact, most of the perpetrators looked like normal people and weren't suspicious at all.
A study revealed that there are certain factors that make a person have a tendency to commit sexual violence, namely:
- Childhood trauma or history of sexual abuse as a child
- Unfavorable family environment or domestic violence as a child
- Raised in a patriarchal environment
- Poverty and unemployment
- Presence of sexual fantasies that deviate or lead to sexual violence
- Antisocial tendencies and aggressive behavior
- Consumption of alcoholic beverages and illegal drugs
Perpetrators of sexual violence against children are usually associated with pedophilic sexual deviations. Meanwhile, in terms of women, sexual violence is generally more at risk for the following conditions:
- Marry a man who has a higher social status
- young age
- Having multiple sexual partners
- Consuming alcoholic beverages and illegal drugs
- Have a history of sexual harassment
- Profession as a commercial sex worker
- Having financial problems or living within the poverty line
However, it is possible for women who are more educated and financially stronger to experience sexual violence by their partners.
Apart from the things above, perpetrators also often use different strategies to ensnare their victims, for example by emotionally manipulating the victim and creating conditions in which the victim is dependent on the perpetrator.
Perpetrators do not hesitate to contact the victim and try to gain the victim's trust by teasing, seducing, or forcing the victim into a situation where sexual violence will occur.
In fact, the perpetrator did not hesitate to persuade, give gifts, or threaten and force physically or verbally. Perpetrators also sometimes use sharp weapons to force their victims.
Know How to Help Victims of Sexual Violence
Victims of sexual violence need immediate assistance and treatment. If you are the closest person who can reach a victim shortly after experiencing violence, you can follow these guidelines to help them:
1. Ensure the safety of the victim
Do not leave the victim alone and call the police or ambulance immediately if he or she needs immediate medical attention.
2. Secure the evidence
To ensure the existence of evidence, the victim should not clean the body, such as bathing, combing hair, or changing clothes first before reporting what happened.
3. Do the visa process
Based on the law in Indonesia as stated in the Criminal Code article 133 paragraph 1, the provisions for making a visa are carried out based on the results of the investigation and the request of the police as investigators.
In addition to investigators, parties who are entitled to request for a post-mortem are public prosecutors, criminal judges, civil judges, and religious judges.
Meanwhile, the party entitled to carry out the post-mortem is a general practitioner or a forensic expert. Request visa et repertum must be handed over by the police along with the victim or suspect to a doctor.
Therefore, to follow up on sexual violence, the first thing the victim must do is report it to the police.
4. The process of examining the risk of sexually transmitted diseases
Make sure the victim undergoes tests to detect the possibility of a sexually transmitted disease so that treatment can be carried out immediately.
Accompanying the victim is one way for the victim to recover little by little even though it is difficult. The trauma experienced by victims of sexual violence can be long-term and can lead to complications, such as depression or even suicidal tendencies.
Therefore, victims need assistance from a psychologist or psychiatrist to help recover from psychological trauma that can occur after experiencing sexual violence.
