CRSV: Indonesia (1955-1966)
This case note documents the occurrence of sexual violence in violent conflict. It contains explicit mentions of different forms of sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.
Background of the Conflict
The Indonesian mass killings of 1965-1966 refer to large-scale and mass killings alongside civil unrest that targeted alleged members and sympathizers of the Communist Party of Indonesia. In the course of this violence, women, trade unionists, ethnic Javanese Abangan and Chinese people, atheists, and leftists were deliberately targeted (Kine, 2017). By the end of the period of violence, some 500,000 to 1 million people were killed, while some estimates put the number up at 2 or 3 million (Blumenthal & McCormack, 2008; Melvin, 2018; Robinson, 2018). The killings began as part of a systemic anti-communist purge campaign after a coup d’etat was attempted by the 30 September Movement. The violence was carried out by the Indonesian authorities, and research and declassified documents show that they received support from the US and UK (Kim, 2002; Leksana, 2020).
Prevalence of Sexual Violence
Men and women were subjected to sexual violence and rape in detention, where the forms of violence were particularly brutal and torturous (Robinson, 2018). Women were subject to sexual violence in the presence of their spouses and children, and in many instances, torture and rape were used to target girls younger than 13 years of age (Blakeley, 2009). According to the International People's Tribunal on 1965 Crimes Against Humanity in Indonesia, the state of Indonesia was directly responsible for crimes against humanity and acts that could be categorized as genocide, including systematic sexual violence and ruthless torture (Kwok, 2016; Perry, 2016).
Basis of the Use of Sexual Violence
Sexual violence and rape were deliberately used to intimidate and those targeted, as the aim was to suppress dissent. In many instances, sexual violence and rape were carried out as a form of torture in order to humiliate communities by targeting the women and subjecting them to the burden of stigmatization.
References
Blakeley, R. (2009). State Terrorism and Neoliberalism: The North in the South. Routledge.
Blumenthal, D. A. & McCormack, T. L. H. (2008). The Legacy of Nuremberg: Civilising Influence Or Institutionalised Vengeance?. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers.
Kim, J. (2002). "U.S. Covert Action in Indonesia in the 1960s: Assessing the Motives and Consequences". Journal of International and Area Studies. 9 (2): 63–85.
Kine, P. (2017). "Indonesia Again Silences 1965 Massacre Victims". Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/08/07/indonesia-again-silences-1965-massacre-victims
Kwok, Y. (2016). "Indonesia's Mass Killings of 1965 Were Crimes Against Humanity, International Judges Say". Time. https://time.com/4414438/indonesia-crimes-against-humanity-1965/
Leksana, G. (2020). "Collaboration in Mass Violence: The Case of the Indonesian Anti-Leftist Mass Killings in 1965–66 in East Java". Journal of Genocide Research. 23 (1): 58–80.
Melvin, J. (2018). The Army and the Indonesian Genocide: Mechanics of Mass Murder. Routledge.
Perry, J. (2016). "Tribunal finds Indonesia guilty of 1965 genocide; US, UK complicit". CNN. http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/21/asia/indonesia-genocide-panel/index.html
Robinson, G. B. (2018). The Killing Season: A History of the Indonesian Massacres, 1965–66. Princeton University Press.
