IPAS - DARE Project Decriminalization of Abortion for Rape (DARE)

Under Indonesia’s legal framework, survivors of sexual violence seeking sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care and the clinical service providers who manage their cases are both subject to criminal charges. This is alarmingly prevalent in cases of rape that lead to the termination of unintended pregnancies.

Indonesia’s Government Regulation No 61/2014 on Reproductive Health (herein referred to as the Health Law) and Ministry of Health (MoH) Decree No3/2016 legalizes elective abortion services, training of abortion providers, and development of safe abortion protocols for cases of rape. However, findings from a recent policy study conducted by the Institute for Criminal Justice Reform (ICJR) and IPASIndonesia highlight serious gapsbetween the Health Law and the delivery of abortion services. Currently there is no guidance from the government on the implementation of this law, and in several instances, other government policies contradict the HealthLaw, leaving police and lawmakers without a clear understanding of abortion legality.

In 2020, the MOH began covertly drafting national guidelines on safe abortion that would lay out the path for operationalizing the Health Law. However, the MOH did not involve relevant stakeholders in the draft process,other than organizations of doctors and midwives and a limited number of local government officials. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) were left out of the process, as was the National Police Force, even though the IPAS Indonesia/ICJR study found that the National Police Force is in favour of developing guidelines that can inform an integrated standard operating procedure (SOP) on sexual violence that the Force can adopt. A SOP on sexual violence at National Police Force would ensure timely access to comprehensive abortion care for rape survivors, as the Health Law allows termination of pregnancy only up to six weeks gestational age. Currently, Yayasan IPAS Indonesia works with the National Police Forceto support a provincial police hospital with developing clinical protocols andreferral mechanisms and providing comprehensive SRH care for survivors of sexual violence. A SOP on sexual violence at the nationallevel for the Police Force is necessary to complement the clinical protocols being developed at the hospital level, as there is currently no standard guidance for the Police Force in how they can address reported cases.

Under the proposed project, IPAS Indonesia, in partnership with ICJR, aims to create a supportive environment for the decriminalization of safe abortion for sexual violence survivors. We intend to achieve this by: 1) Creating public demand for the development and dissemination of national guidelines that underpin the Health Law by strengthening CSO alliances and movements beyond traditional sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) CSOs, and 2) Claiming civic space through support from partners in media and allies in Parliament and engaging in the process of developingandrefining a National Police Force SOP on sexual violence that will ensure timely access of comprehensive SRH care for sexual violence survivors, including the elective termination of unintended pregnancies. Our activities will include promoting commonmessaging for public awareness, conducting joint advocacy with CSO partners, and creating safety measures for protecting survivors of sexual violence and service providers through the establishment of legal support when needed.