Police Worried 41 Girls Might Be Sexually Abused at Islamic Boarding Schools in East Lombok

Liputan6.com, East Lombok - Police in East Lombok have been investigating sexual abuse cases in two Islamic boarding schools in East Lombok. Three girls have spoken up, but the police suspect there are 41 girls who actually became the victims.

Those Islamic boarding schools are located in Sikur and Kotaraja.

"For the time being, according to the search and investigation, in Sikur there is one victim and two victims in Kotaraja. Regarding the matter of other victims, we are still examining it," said the Chief Resort Police of East Lombok, Adjutant Police Grand Commissioner Hery Indra Cahyono, Wednesday (24/5/2023).

Hery hopes that the other victims are willing to report their cases to the police which has coordinated with the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK).

The cases in Sikur and Kotaraja allegedly involved the heads of the Islamic boarding schools.The suspects are accused of violating the sexual violence crimes.

Victims Are Unwilling to Speak Up

In Sikur case, a legal consultant from Mataram University, Joko Jumadi, said that there are dozens victims of the suspect with initials HSN.

Joko Jumadi also pointed out a WhatsApp group in which half of the members were victimized, but only one spoke up.

"In that WhatsApp group, whose members are around 30 people, half of them also became the victims. But only one who dares to speak up and becomes the witness. Why is that? Because it's about safety," explained Joko.

Some of the members, Joko added, are alumni of the boarding schools. Some members have married, and their marriages make them unwilling to become eyewitnesses.

Joko hopes the police will keep tracking the victims and other possible perpetrators.

In 2022, a teacher at an Islamic Boarding School in West Java province was given death sentence after raping 13 girls. Some of the girls had to have abortions.

Herry Wirawan tried to appeal, but his attempt failed. The Ministry of Religious Affairs also supported the decision, hoping that the sentence would prevent similar cases. 

"The punishment for Herry Wirawan hopefully serves as a lesson so that the similar case will not be repeated," said Waryono Abdul Ghafur, Director of Religious Education and Islamic Boarding Schools in the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Last March, a caretaker of an Islamic Boarding School in Jember, East Java province, was facing 12 years in prison for sexually abusing five girls and one boy. The rapist was caught in 2022 after running away for a month and hiding in Lampung province, Sumatra Island.

Hermawan Arifianto contributed to this report.