Justice Experiences of Sexual Violence Survivors in the Indonesian Legal System

Abstract

Sexual violence and institutional justice are critical areas of inquiry within the fields of criminal justice and legal reform, especially in socio-cultural contexts where survivors face systemic barriers. While legal responses have improved in many jurisdictions, limited attention has been paid to how survivors experience justice processes from a subjective, emotional, and moral standpoint. Little is known about how survivors of sexual violence in Indonesia interpret their interactions with the justice system, raising the question: how is justice lived, perceived, and internalized by survivors within such institutional frameworks? This study adopts a descriptive phenomenological approach, employing Colaizzi’s method of analysis to ensure rigor in capturing subjective meanings, to explore the lived experiences of sexual violence survivors navigating Indonesia’s criminal justice system. Using in-depth semi-structured interviews with ten survivors, the study identified four essential themes: revictimization during investigation, disempowerment in courtroom proceedings, institutional stigma, and emerging hopes for restorative justice. Thematic analysis revealed that justice, for survivors, is experienced not only as a legal outcome but as a relational and emotional process shaped by acknowledgment, respect, and dignity. Findings highlight the psychological cost of procedural injustice and underscore the survivors’ calls for trauma-informed and empathetic legal practices. These results broaden our understanding of institutional justice by grounding it in survivors’ lived realities, offering crucial insights for developing survivor-centered reforms and future research on justice system accountability. However, the study has certain limitations: its small sample size (ten participants) restricts generalizability, and the reliance on self-reported narratives may be subject to recall bias. Despite these constraints, the findings carry significant practical implications. They emphasize the need for policymakers, legal practitioners, and law enforcement agencies to integrate trauma-informed procedures, enhance survivor protection mechanisms, and implement restorative practices to reduce secondary victimization. Such reforms could contribute to a more compassionate and accountable justice system in Indonesia.