Law, Silence, and Digital Recourse: Addressing Bullying and Body Shaming in Indonesian Higher Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26905/idjch.v16i2.15371Keywords:
Bullying, Body Shaming, Law, E-Complaint, UniversityAbstract
Bullying and body shaming in Indonesian higher education persist not because the law is absent, but because it remains systematically inaccessible to those who suffer its violations. Existing legal instruments including Articles 310, 315, and 351 of the Criminal Code, Article 27A of the ITE Law, and Ministerial Regulation No. 55 of 2024 provide a formally adequate normative framework, yet their enforcement is consistently undermined by institutional silence, hierarchical campus culture, and the absence of trusted reporting mechanisms. This study examines the effectiveness of that legal framework and evaluates the capacity of an electronic complaint system to function as a legally grounded instrument for institutional response to bullying and body shaming in the campus environment. Employing a socio-legal research design that integrates direct observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and systematic legal analysis, the study was conducted at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Universitas Nurul Jadid, in August 2024. The findings demonstrate that the e-complaint system measurably reduces the structural barriers to victim reporting by providing anonymity, real-time complaint tracking, and digitally admissible evidentiary records. However, its full legal potential is contingent upon compliance with the Personal Data Protection Law, institutional embedding within Regulation No. 55/2024's Satgas framework, and sustained commitment to anti-retaliation enforcement. Law and technology, this study concludes, are most effective not as alternatives but as mutually reinforcing instruments of institutional accountability.
Downloads
References
Aprilina, Vita, Timbul Dompak, Lubna Salsabila, and Karol Teovani Lodan. "The Role of Digitalization in Enhancing Public Service Efficiency: Challenges and Opportunities in Managing Public Complaints Through E-Government in Indonesia." International Journal of Social Work 2, no. 1 (2025): 57–67.
Banakar, Reza, and Max Travers, eds. Theory and Method in Socio-Legal Research. Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2005.
Braun, Virginia, and Victoria Clarke. "One Size Fits All? What Counts as Quality Practice in (Reflexive) Thematic Analysis?" Qualitative Research in Psychology 18, no. 3 (2021): 328–352. https://doi.org/10.1080/14780887.2020.1769238.
Constitutional Court of the Republic of Indonesia. Decision No. 20/PUU-XIV/2016 on the Admissibility of Electronic Evidence. Jakarta, 2016.
Creswell, John W., and J. David Creswell. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. 5th ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2018.
Erdianti, Rokhmad Nur. "Body Shaming Act as a Crime in Indonesian Criminal Law." Justitia: Jurnal Ilmu Hukum dan Humaniora 9, no. 1 (2022): 37–43. https://doi.org/10.31604/justitia.v9i1.37-43.
Hodgins, Margaret, and Patricia Mannix-McNamara. "Workplace Bullying and Harassment in Higher Education Institutions: A Scoping Review." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 21, no. 9 (2024): 1173. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21091173.
Indonesia. Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana [Criminal Code]. Articles 310, 311, 315, 351. Jakarta, 1946.
Indonesia. Undang-Undang Nomor 11 Tahun 2008 tentang Informasi dan Transaksi Elektronik sebagaimana diubah dengan Undang-Undang Nomor 1 Tahun 2024 [Law on Electronic Information and Transactions as Amended by Law No. 1 of 2024]. Jakarta, 2024.
Indonesia. Undang-Undang Nomor 27 Tahun 2022 tentang Perlindungan Data Pribadi [Personal Data Protection Law]. Jakarta, 2022.
Indonesia, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Nomor 30 Tahun 2021 tentang Pencegahan dan Penanganan Kekerasan Seksual di Lingkungan Perguruan Tinggi [Ministerial Regulation No. 30 of 2021 on Sexual Violence Prevention in Higher Education]. Jakarta, 2021.
Indonesia, Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology. Peraturan Menteri Pendidikan, Kebudayaan, Riset, dan Teknologi Nomor 55 Tahun 2024 tentang Pencegahan dan Penanganan Kekerasan di Lingkungan Perguruan Tinggi [Ministerial Regulation No. 55 of 2024 on Violence Prevention in Higher Education]. Jakarta, 2024. https://peraturan.bpk.go.id/Details/305767/permendikbudriset-no-55-tahun-2024.
Irianto, Sulistyowati, and Shidarta, eds. Metode Penelitian Hukum: Konstelasi dan Refleksi. Jakarta: Yayasan Obor Indonesia, 2011.
Jatiningsih, Oksiana, FX Sri Sadewo, Ali Imron, Rianda Usmi, Dyan E. Santi, and I.G.A.A. Noviekayati. "Institutional Accountability Through Campus Policies Against Gender-Based Violence: A Case Study of Universitas Negeri Surabaya." Lex Localis – Journal of Local Self-Government 23, no. 10 (2025): 1293–1306. https://doi.org/10.4335/23.10.1293-1306(2025).
Puluhulawa, Mohamad Rusdiyanto Ulaan, and Riski Husain. "Body Shaming Through Social Media as a Digital Crime in the Era of Disruption." Jambura Law Review 3, no. 1 (2021): 1–19. https://doi.org/10.33756/jlr.v3i1.7200.
Rante, Yudi, Agustinus Numberi, Musa Yusuf Owoyemi, and Yerlan Kozhamzarov. "Integrating Multi-Stakeholder Governance, Engineering Approaches, and Accountability Complaint Management Systems in Indonesian Public Infrastructure." Indonesian Journal of Science and Technology 10, no. 2 (2025): 415–438. https://doi.org/10.17509/ijost.v10i2.
Sheikh, M. Murtaza Raza, Neha Singh, Rabia Arshad, and Ruchi Sinha. "Technology-Facilitated Sexual Violence and Abuse in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review." Trauma, Violence, and Abuse 25, no. 2 (2023): 1189–1207. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380231189191.
Tan, Yannis, Laura Vandenbosch, and Heidi Vandebosch. "A Scoping Review of Technological Tools for Supporting Victims of Online Sexual Harassment." Aggression and Violent Behavior 78 (2024): 101953. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2024.101953.
Wieberneit, Marcella, Annicka Maria Seemann, and Rachel M. MacQueen. "Silenced Survivors: A Systematic Review of the Barriers to Reporting, Investigating, and Adjudicating Cases of Sexual Assault and Rape." Trauma, Violence, and Abuse 26, no. 1 (2024): 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380241261404.
Additional Files
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jurnal Cakrawala Hukum
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish in this journal agree to the following terms:
The copyright of the received article shall be assigned to the journal as the publisher of the journal. The intended copyright includes the right to publish the article in various forms (including reprints). The journal maintains the publishing rights to the published articles. Authors must agree to the copyright transfer agreement by checking the Copyright Notice column at the initial stage when submitting the article.
