Legal Justice for Revenge Porn Victims: Rethinking Indonesia's Cyber Law from a Victim-Centered Perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64780/rolsj.v1i1.37Keywords:
Consumer Protection Law, Contractual Balance, Cooperative Loan Agreement, Legal Validity, Standard ClauseAbstract
Background: The dissemination of intimate content without consent, commonly known as revenge porn, has emerged as a serious form of cybersexual violence in the digital era. The perpetrators often use social media platforms to spread such content as a form of retaliation. This issue poses significant psychological, emotional, and social harm to victims, exacerbated by the lack of specific legal safeguards in Indonesia.
Aims: This study seeks to explore the urgency of legal protection for individuals affected by revenge porn and assess the extent to which current Indonesian legislation provides such protection.
Methods: Using a normative-empirical legal research method with both descriptive and futuristic approaches, this study collected data through literature analysis and interviews with law enforcement and victim support organizations. The data were analyzed through qualitative interpretation.
Result: The study found that legal mechanisms to support victims of revenge porn are still highly inadequate. Existing laws, such as the Pornography Law and the Electronic Information and Transactions Law, lack specific provisions and may even criminalize the victims. Although institutions like the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK) exist, access to protection is limited and dependent on formal requests. Additionally, personal data protection remains underregulated.
Conclusion: There is a pressing need for a more inclusive legal framework that offers specific protection for victims of digital sexual violence. The development and enactment of new legal instruments, such as the Sexual Violence Eradication Bill and the Personal Data Protection Bill, are essential to ensure justice and restore dignity for those affected by revenge porn.
References
Abdelaziz, D. K. (2025). Criminal Legislation and Women in Sexual Assault Cases: Justice or Victim Blaming? Journal of Posthumanism, 5(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.63332/joph.v5i2.466
Ali, E. B., Anufriev, V. P., & Amfo, B. (2021). Green economy implementation in Ghana as a road map for a sustainable development drive: A review. Scientific African, 12, e00756. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sciaf.2021.e00756
Belshaw, S., & Nodeland, B. (2022). Digital evidence experts in the law enforcement community: Understanding the use of forensics examiners by police agencies. Security Journal, 35(1), 248–262. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41284-020-00276-w
Caccioppoli, D. (2024). Remolding the court: The need for forward-thinking evidentiary and sentencing practices in domestic violence cases with battered women. Family Court Review, 62(1), 228–242. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12775
Christianto, H. (2020). Measuring cyber pornography based on Indonesian living law: A study of current law finding method. International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 60. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijlcj.2019.100348
Crofts, T., & Burke, J. (2021). Sexting in Hong Kong: A complex interplay between young people, technology, and law. Asia Pacific Law Review, 29(1), 47–69. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/10192557.2021.1979801
Das, S. (2023). What We Talk About When We Talk About Love in the Digital Age: Technology, Intimacy, and Affect in Olivia Sudjic’s Sympathy and Lauren Oyler’s Fake Accounts. Critique: Studies in Contemporary Fiction, 64(5), 892–905. https://doi.org/10.1080/00111619.2022.2141096
Dawes, J., May, T., McKinlay, A., Fancourt, D., & Burton, A. (2021). Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of parents with young children: A qualitative interview study. BMC Psychology, 9(1), 194. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00701-8
De Angeli, A., Falduti, M., Menendez-Blanco, M., & Tessaris, S. (2023). Reporting non-consensual pornography: Clarity, efficiency and distress. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 82(9), 12829–12858. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-022-14291-z
Dodge, A., & Spencer, D. C. (2018). Online Sexual Violence, Child Pornography or Something Else Entirely? Police Responses to Non-Consensual Intimate Image Sharing among Youth. Social and Legal Studies, 27(5), 636–657. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/0964663917724866
Eaton, A. A., Krieger, M. A., Siegel, J. A., & Miller, A. M. (2024). Victim-survivors’ proposed solutions to addressing image-based sexual abuse in the U.S.: Legal, corporate, educational, technological, and cultural approaches. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 24(2), 307–334. https://doi.org/10.1111/asap.12395
Ferguson, J. (2024). Forward-Looking Responsibility and Political Corporate Social Responsibility. British Journal of Management, 35(3), 1113–1126. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12801
Fulcher, M., Schroeder, K. M., & Dinella, L. M. (2023). How the COVID-19 global pandemic further jeopardized women’s health, mental well-being, and safety: Intersectionality framework and social policy action. Journal of Social Issues, 79(2), 543–555. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12587
Gille, F., Smith, S., & Mays, N. (2022). Evidence-based guiding principles to build public trust in personal data use in health systems. DIGITAL HEALTH, 8, 20552076221111947. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076221111947
Gilmore, S., & Moffett, L. (2021). Finding a way to live with the past: ‘Self-repair’, ‘informal repair’, and reparations in transitional justice. Journal of Law and Society, 48(3), 455–480. https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12311
Halder, D., & and Basu, S. (n.d.). Digital dichotomies: Navigating non-consensual image-based harassment and legal challenges in India. Information & Communications Technology Law, 0(0), 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1080/13600834.2024.2408914
Harbinja, E., Edwards, L., & McVey, M. (2023). Governing ghostbots. Computer Law and Security Review, 48. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clsr.2023.105791
Hegarty, B. (2022). Sex, crime and entertainment: Images of LGBT in the Indonesian news media. Indonesia and the Malay World, 50(146), 33–51. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2022.2035074
Hidayahtulloh, M. A. (2024). Ideological Contestation and Gender Policy Reforms in Post-Reformasi Indonesia. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 54(3), 363–386. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/00472336.2023.2177558
Jain, A. K., Sahoo, S. R., & Kaubiyal, J. (2021). Online social networks security and privacy: Comprehensive review and analysis. Complex & Intelligent Systems, 7(5), 2157–2177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40747-021-00409-7
Kaburi, R. M., & Kaburi, B. B. (2023). Formal support services and (dis)empowerment of domestic violence victims: Perspectives from women survivors in Ghana. BMC Women’s Health, 23(1), 539. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12905-023-02678-5
Karaian, L., & Brady, D. (2019). Revisiting the “Private Use Exception” to Canada’s Child Pornography Laws: Teenage Sexting, Sex-Positivity, Pleasure, and Control in the Digital Age. Osgoode Hall Law Journal, 56(2), 301–349. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.60082/2817-5069.3483
Khakim, M., Supanto, & Novianto, W. T. (2019). Legal protection for cyberporn crime victims. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 28(20), 362–365. Scopus.
Kip, A., Diele, J., Holling, H., & Morina, N. (2022). The relationship of trauma-related guilt with PTSD symptoms in adult trauma survivors: A meta-analysis. Psychological Medicine, 52(12), 2201–2211. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291722001866
Koch, R., & Miles, S. (2021). Inviting the stranger in: Intimacy, digital technology and new geographies of encounter. Progress in Human Geography, 45(6), 1379–1401. https://doi.org/10.1177/0309132520961881
Levin, I., & Mamlok, D. (2021). Culture and Society in the Digital Age. Information, 12(2), Article 2. https://doi.org/10.3390/info12020068
Liberati, E., Richards, N., Willars, J., Scott, D., Boydell, N., Parker, J., Pinfold, V., Martin, G., Dixon-Woods, M., & Jones, P. B. (2021). A qualitative study of experiences of NHS mental healthcare workers during the Covid-19 pandemic. BMC Psychiatry, 21(1), 250. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-021-03261-8
Madasari, O. (2021). Shall we dance? Defining sexuality and controlling the body in contemporary Indonesia. Religions, 12(4). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12040264
Mania, K. (2024). Legal Protection of Revenge and Deepfake Porn Victims in the European Union: Findings From a Comparative Legal Study. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 25(1), 117–129. https://doi.org/10.1177/15248380221143772
McLelland, M. (2019). Young people, online fandom and the perils of child pornography legislation in Australia. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 22(1), 102–118. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877917704927
Miller, C. M. (2022). A survey of prosecutors and investigators using digital evidence: A starting point. Forensic Science International: Synergy, 6, 100296. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2022.100296
Nelson, F. M., & Santoso, T. (2025). Financial Service Provider and Online Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Lacunae in Indonesia Legal Framework? Journal of Law and Legal Reform, 6(1), 391–420. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.15294/jllr.v6i1.14264
Nyoman Juwita Arsawati, I., Made Wirya Darma, I., & Antari, P. E. D. (2021). A criminological outlook of cyber crimes in sexual violence against children in Indonesian Laws. International Journal of Criminology and Sociology, 10, 219–223. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.6000/1929-4409.2021.10.26
Pitaksantayothin, J. (2023). A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY LAWS IN THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA AND IN THAILAND AGAINST THE BACKGROUND OF INTERNATIONAL LEGAL FRAMEWORKS. Comparative Law Review, 29, 123–150. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.12775/CLR.2023.005
Primack, A. J. (2018). Youth sexting and the First Amendment: Rhetoric and child pornography doctrine in the age of translation. New Media and Society, 20(8), 2917–2933. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817737297
Schroeder, S. A. (2021). Democratic Values: A Better Foundation for Public Trust in Science. The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, 72(2), 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjps/axz023
Silvestri, A. L. (2022). ‘A conflict between the token guardians of society and a man’s private life’: Kenneth Anger, Palo Alto Kodak, the Kinsey Institute, and the circulation of Marvin Samuel’s amateur S/M pornography. Porn Studies, 9(4), 413–429. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.1080/23268743.2020.1844590
Sulistyanta, S., Handayani, I. G. A. K. R., Karjoko, L., & Danendra, R. (2023). The Principle of Proportionality in Anti-Pornography Law: Comparing Several Countries. Journal of Indonesian Legal Studies, 8(2), 1103–1150. Scopus. https://doi.org/10.15294/jils.v8i2.70002
Terrell, P. (2023). Free Speech: Threats, Limits and Challenges (p. 201). Scopus.
Teunissen, C., & Napier, S. (2022). Child sexual abuse material and end-to-end encryption on social media platforms: An overview. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, 653, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.3316/informit.565952201432884
Thajib, F. (2022). Discordant emotions: The affective dynamics of anti-LGBT campaigns in Indonesia. Indonesia and the Malay World, 50(146), 10–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/13639811.2022.2005312
Wang, F., & Topalli, V. (2024). Understanding Romance Scammers Through the Lens of Their Victims: Qualitative Modeling of Risk and Protective Factors in the Online Context. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 49(1), 145–181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-022-09706-4
Wang, S., Zhu, X., Ding, W., & Yengejeh, A. A. (2022). Cyberbullying and Cyberviolence Detection: A Triangular User-Activity-Content View. IEEE/CAA Journal of Automatica Sinica, 9(8), 1384–1405. https://doi.org/10.1109/JAS.2022.105740
Wang, T., Olivier ,Dianne F., & and Chen, P. (2023). Creating individual and organizational readiness for change: Conceptualization of system readiness for change in school education. International Journal of Leadership in Education, 26(6), 1037–1061. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603124.2020.1818131
Wijaya, H. Y. (2021). Privacy, Porn, and Gay Sex Parties: The Carceral Governance of Homosexuality in Indonesia. Laws, 10(4). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws10040087
Yadav, V. (2023a). Tackling Non-Consensual Dissemination of Intimate Images in India’s Contemporary Legal Framework. International Annals of Criminology, 61(3–4), 355–383. https://doi.org/10.1017/cri.2023.30
Yadav, V. (2023b). Tackling Non-Consensual Dissemination of Intimate Images in India’s Contemporary Legal Framework. International Annals of Criminology, 61(3–4), 355–383. https://doi.org/10.1017/cri.2023.30
Zaltina, P. E., & Nurtjahyo, L. I. (2024). Right To Be Forgotten as a Legal Protection for The Victims of Electronic Sexual Violence Cases. Indonesian Journal of Socio-Legal Studies, 3(2). Scopus. https://doi.org/10.54828/ijsls.2024v3n2.4
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Nabila Ayuningtyas, Subekti Subekti, Rehnalemken Ginting Ginting, Supanto Supanto
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.