Indonesia: age of consent, domestic violence and FGM

Indonesia's Domestic Violence Elimination Law (Law No. 23 of 2004) obliges the police to give a victim temporary protection within 24 hours and the court to rule on a protection order within seven days, valid for up to one year; since 2 January 2026 its 5-, 10- and 15-year maximums for physical violence are paired with fine categories by Law No. 1 of 2026, and the 2022 Sexual Violence Crimes Law makes restitution to the victim compulsory for offences carrying four years or more. Komnas Perempuan counted 376,529 cases of gender-based violence against women in 2025, 89.76% of them in the personal sphere, and SAPA 129 takes reports on 129 or on WhatsApp 08-111-129-129.

Illustration: Violence, consent and sexual offences
Location map — Indonesia
Indonesia. Simplified location map — Natural Earth data, public domain.

Domestic violence

The law applies to spouses and children, to relatives by blood, marriage, breastfeeding, care or guardianship who live in the household, and to resident domestic workers (Art. 2(1)); it prohibits physical, psychological and sexual violence and household neglect, which includes making someone economically dependent by restricting or forbidding decent work (Arts. 5 to 9). Since Law No. 1 of 2026 re-expressed the 2004 fines as categories of the Criminal Code (Art. 79 of the Code: category II Rp10 million, III Rp50 million, IV Rp200 million, VI Rp2 billion, VII Rp5 billion), physical violence carries up to five years or category IV, up to ten years or category VI when it causes illness or serious injury, and up to 15 years or category VII when it causes death (Art. 44(1) to (3)). Minor violence between spouses that causes no illness or obstacle to daily work carries up to four months or category II and is a complaint offence (Arts. 44(4) and 51).

Protection is built in stages. Within 24 hours of learning of a case or receiving a report the police must give the victim temporary protection, for at most seven days, and within a further 24 hours must ask the court for a protection order (Art. 16). The head of the court must issue the order within seven days of the application unless there is a good reason (Art. 28). The application may be made by the victim or family, a friend, the police, a volunteer companion or a spiritual counsellor, orally or in writing, and a court registrar must record an oral request (Arts. 29 and 30(1) and (2)); when someone other than the victim applies, the victim's consent is needed, though in certain circumstances the application may proceed without it (Art. 30(3) and (4)). An order lasts up to one year and can be extended by a request filed seven days before it ends (Art. 32); the court may add conditions (Arts. 31, 33 and 34).

Breach of an order is dealt with quickly: the police may arrest and detain a person believed to have violated it without a warrant, with the warrant to follow within 24 hours and no suspension of detention (Art. 35); the court summons the offender within three days of a written report (Art. 37) and may require a written undertaking and, if it is ignored, detain him or her for up to 30 days (Art. 38). Other penalties, as re-expressed by Law No. 1 of 2026, are up to three years or category III for psychological violence (Art. 45(1)), up to 12 years or category VII for forced sexual intercourse in the household (Art. 46) and up to three years or category III for household neglect (Art. 49). A judge may add a ban on approaching the victim and compulsory counselling under supervision (Art. 50), and the testimony of the victim alone is enough when supported by one other valid piece of evidence (Art. 55).

Other texts apply alongside it. The Criminal Code punishes assault with up to two years six months or category III (Art. 466(1)), up to five years if it causes serious injury (Art. 466(2)) and up to eight years for grave assault (Art. 468(1)), with a possible increase of one third when the victim is the offender's mother or father (Art. 470(c)); the 2022 Law on Sexual Violence Crimes lists sexual violence within the household among its crimes (Art. 4(2)(h)). Children are covered by the ban on violence against them in the Child Protection Law (Art. 76C of Law No. 35 of 2014), and the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) receives and reviews public complaints, mediates and reports suspected breaches to the authorities (Art. 76).

Aceh has its own criminal regime. Under Law No. 11 of 2006 the Syar'iyah Court hears family, civil and criminal (jinayah) cases of every Muslim in Aceh, and the Law's elucidation says this covers anyone who is Muslim regardless of nationality (Art. 128(2)); a non-Muslim who commits an act not covered by the Criminal Code or other penal statutes is subject to jinayah law (Art. 129(2)), and non-Muslims who offend together with a Muslim may choose to submit to it (Art. 129(1)). The qanuns fixing Aceh's offences and penalties were not reviewed for this page.

The scale of reported violence is documented. Komnas Perempuan's CATAHU 2025, compiled with 97 data-providing institutions, recorded 376,529 cases of gender-based violence against women in 2025, up 14.07% on the previous year, of which 337,961 (89.76%) occurred in the personal sphere; among complaints made to Komnas Perempuan itself, sexual violence was the most reported form, followed by psychological, physical and economic violence, and victims were mostly women aged 18 to 40.

Key points

Physical violence in the householdUp to 5 years or fine up to category IV, Rp200 million (Law No. 23 of 2004 Art. 44(1) as adjusted by Law No. 1 of 2026)
Violence causing illness or serious injuryUp to 10 years or fine up to category VI, Rp2 billion (Art. 44(2))
Violence causing deathUp to 15 years or fine up to category VII, Rp5 billion (Art. 44(3))
Minor violence between spousesUp to 4 months or category II, Rp10 million; complaint offence (Arts. 44(4) and 51)
Psychological violenceUp to 3 years or category III, Rp50 million (Art. 45(1))
Forced sexual intercourse in the householdUp to 12 years or category VII (Art. 46); between spouses only on complaint (Art. 53)
Household neglectUp to 3 years or category III (Art. 49)
Police temporary protectionWithin 24 hours of the report, for up to 7 days (Art. 16)
Court protection orderIssued within 7 days of the application; lasts up to 1 year, renewable (Arts. 28 and 32)

In practice

  • Call SAPA 129 (telephone 129 or WhatsApp 08-111-129-129) or go to the police: the police must give temporary protection within 24 hours and then request a protection order from the court (Art. 16).
  • Apply for a protection order at the district court, orally or in writing; the registrar must write down an oral request (Art. 30). The victim, family, a friend, the police, a volunteer companion or a spiritual counsellor may apply (Art. 29).
  • Have a doctor examine and document injuries: health workers must examine the victim to professional standards and write a report and a visum et repertum at the investigator's request, or a medical certificate with the same evidential force (Art. 21).
  • Report any breach of the order in writing (Art. 37): the police may arrest the offender without a warrant, and the court summons him or her within three days.
  • Ask a social worker to take you to a safe house or alternative residence (Art. 22(1)(c)); advocates are obliged to give legal advice and accompany the victim at investigation, prosecution and trial (Art. 25).

Recent changes

Komnas Perempuan published CATAHU 2025 on 23 June 2026: 376,529 cases of gender-based violence against women recorded in 2025, up 14.07%, with 337,961 cases (89.76%) in the personal sphere.

Where to go

  • Police station, where the police must tell the victim about the right to services and accompaniment (Art. 18).
  • SAPA 129 (Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection): telephone 129, WhatsApp 08-111-129-129 and online form.
  • UPTD PPA of the province or district, and the court registry of the district court (pengadilan negeri) for protection orders.
  • KPAI, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission, for complaints about violence against children (Law No. 35 of 2014 Art. 76).
  • Komnas Perempuan, Jalan Latuharhary No. 4B, Menteng, Central Jakarta; telephone +62-21-3903963.

Worth knowing

The monetary figures printed in the 2004 original (Rp15 million for physical violence, Rp30 million and Rp45 million for the aggravated forms) no longer apply: Law No. 1 of 2026 replaced the fines in Arts. 44 to 46 and 49 with a category of the Criminal Code (II to VII, Rp10 million to Rp5 billion), while the prison maximums of those articles stayed as printed in 2004.

Frequently asked questions

Does Indonesia have a domestic violence law?

Yes: Law No. 23 of 2004 on the Elimination of Domestic Violence, which covers physical, psychological and sexual violence and household neglect and gives victims a court protection order, valid for up to a year, on top of the penalties in Arts. 44 to 49.

How quickly must a court act on a protection request?

Art. 28 requires the head of the court to issue the order within seven days of the application unless there is a good reason, and the police must themselves ask the court for it within 24 hours of giving temporary protection (Art. 16(3)).

What happens if the offender breaks the order?

The police may arrest and detain him or her without a warrant (Art. 35), and after a written undertaking is ignored the court may detain the offender for up to 30 days (Art. 38).

Sources

The general article: Domestic violence · Compare with another country

Female genital mutilation

Health Minister Regulation No. 1636/2010 on female circumcision was revoked by Regulation No. 6 of 2014 (enacted 6 February 2014). Its recitals state that the practice is not a medical act because it is not based on a medical indication and has not been proved beneficial to health, while recognising that cultural and religious demand persists; the regulation told the Health and Sharia Advisory Council to issue guidelines that protect the safety and health of the girl and do not amount to female genital mutilation (Art. 2). Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024, which implements the 2023 Health Law, names 'abolishing the practice of female circumcision' first among the minimum measures for the reproductive health of infants, toddlers and preschool children (Art. 102(a)).

The only national measurement found is in the Ministry of Health's Riskesdas 2013 report (chapter 15.9): 51.2% of girls aged 0 to 11 had ever been circumcised. The report's age breakdown puts the circumcision at 1 to 5 months for 72.4%, at 1 to 4 years for 13.9% and at 5 to 11 years for 3.3%. Provincial figures range from 83.7% in Gorontalo to 2.7% in Nusa Tenggara Timur, and the share was higher in towns (55.8%) than in rural areas (46.9%), with the lowest level (44.5%) in the poorest wealth quintile. The 2018 national Riskesdas report, searched for the same terms, returns no comparable figure.

The law does not leave the decision to a practitioner's discretion: doctors, midwives and other health professionals must work to professional standards and obtain the consent of the patient or the family (Health Law, Art. 274(a) and (b)), and a patient has the right to accept or refuse care after receiving full information (Art. 4(1)(h)). A professional who knows or suspects that a crime has been committed against a patient may report it to law enforcement, and that reporting is carved out of medical confidentiality (Art. 302(1) and (2)).

For children at risk of violence, the Child Protection Law bans placing, allowing or taking part in violence against a child (Law No. 35 of 2014, Art. 76C), and the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) receives and reviews complaints about violations of children's rights and reports them to the authorities (Art. 76). SAPA 129 takes reports of violence against women and children.

Key points

2010 regulationHealth Minister Regulation No. 1636/2010 revoked by Regulation No. 6 of 2014 (enacted 6 February 2014)
Reason given in 2014Not a medical act: no medical indication and no proven health benefit (recital b)
Guidelines mandateHealth and Sharia Advisory Council to issue guidelines excluding mutilation (Art. 2 of Regulation No. 6 of 2014)
Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024'Abolishing the practice of female circumcision' is a minimum measure for infants and preschool children (Art. 102(a))
Girls aged 0 to 11 ever circumcised51.2% (Riskesdas 2013)
Age at circumcision1 to 5 months 72.4%; 1 to 4 years 13.9%; 5 to 11 years 3.3% (Riskesdas 2013)
ProvincesHighest Gorontalo 83.7%; lowest Nusa Tenggara Timur 2.7% (Riskesdas 2013)
Urban and ruralUrban 55.8%; rural 46.9% (Riskesdas 2013)

In practice

  • A parent asked by a relative or practitioner to have a girl circumcised can ask what the medical indication is: the Health Ministry's 2014 regulation records that there is none and no proven benefit, and a patient or family may refuse care after full information (Health Law, Art. 4(1)(h)).
  • If a child is at risk, report to SAPA 129 (telephone 129 or WhatsApp 08-111-129-129) or file a complaint with KPAI.
  • A doctor, midwife or other health worker who suspects a crime against a patient is entitled to report it to the police despite medical confidentiality (Health Law, Art. 302).

Recent changes

Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024, enacted on 26 July 2024, is the most recent text opened that deals with the practice; no prevalence figure more recent than Riskesdas 2013 was found in the sources opened.

Where to go

  • SAPA 129 (Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection): telephone 129, WhatsApp 08-111-129-129.
  • KPAI, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission, which receives public complaints about violations of children's rights.
  • The health facility or community health centre (Puskesmas) where the child is registered, for information on reproductive health education for infants and preschool children under Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024.

Worth knowing

The 2013 figures concern girls aged 0 to 11 only, and the regulations speak of 'female circumcision' (sunat perempuan) rather than a criminal offence: none of the three texts searched (Criminal Code, Health Law, Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024) sets a penalty for it.

Frequently asked questions

Is female circumcision a crime in Indonesia?

None of the texts reviewed (Criminal Code of 2023, Health Law of 2023, Government Regulation No. 28 of 2024) names it as an offence; the Health Minister revoked in 2014 the rule that had regulated it, and the 2024 regulation lists abolishing the practice among minimum health measures for infants and preschool children.

What did the 2014 regulation change?

Regulation No. 6 of 2014 revoked Regulation No. 1636/2010, stated that female circumcision is not a medical act because it has no medical indication or proven benefit, and mandated the Health and Sharia Advisory Council to issue guidelines that exclude mutilation.

How common was the practice in the last national survey?

Riskesdas 2013 found 51.2% of girls aged 0 to 11 ever circumcised, from 83.7% in Gorontalo to 2.7% in Nusa Tenggara Timur.

Sources

The general article: Female genital mutilation · Compare with another country

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