Hundreds of pairs of shoes were arranged neatly in front of the House of Representatives (DPR) building on the morning of Wednesday November 25. Several purple coloured posters were also placed between the shoes, one of which read "No Excuse For Abuse".
The shoe action in front of the DPR building was part of the "Shoes in Silence" movement initiated by the trauma counseling Recovery Foundation (Yayasan Pulih), The Body Shop and the online feminist magazine Magdalene. The protest was to demand that the DPR immediately enact the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence (RUU PKS).
The hundreds of shoes came from people who donated them to the action. In between the shoes were messages from their owners supporting the enactment of the RUU PKS.
Recovery Foundation public relations officer Wawan Suwandi, who was present at the action, said that Indonesia has a quite serious problem with sexual violence.
According to Suwandi, many victims of sexual violence are afraid to report abuse because they feel frightened, especially if the perpetrator holds a senior position or has a strong economic status.
"Through the legal umbrella of the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence we hope that victims will receive justice", said Suwandi.
Suwandi hopes that the RUU PKS will be included in the DPR's 2021 National Legislation Program (Prolegnas) and is inviting DPR members who still have a conscience to take part in enacting it.
"We hope that the respected DPR members will not repeat their actions in 2020, by removing the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence from the 2021 Prolegnas. We hope that this does not happen again", said Suwandi.
"For this we are inviting the DPR members to be on our side to together side with the victims and enact the RUU PKS", he added.
Following the protest in front of the DPR, the shoes will be sent to the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan). There, the hundreds of different types of shoes will be turned into an art installation.
The RUU PKS has still not been enacted after the draft law was removed from the Prolegnas in June.
[Translated by James Balowski. The original title of the article was "Ratusan Sepatu Mejeng di Depan DPR Saat Aksi Tuntut RUU PKS Segera Disahkan".]
