Another top Indonesian university suspends 16 students over alleged online sexual harassment
The case at IPB University in Bogor purportedly occurred in 2024 but came to the fore following a separate high-profile incident involving students from the law faculty at the University of Indonesia.
A file photo showing a person using a phone and a laptop. (Photo: iStock)
JAKARTA: Another top university in Indonesia suspended 16 of its students over alleged sexual harassment, two years after the incident purportedly happened in 2024.
The case at IPB University’s engineering and technology faculty involved two alleged victims from the same cohort and came to the fore after a “formal report” was made to the university last Tuesday (Apr 14), with it then deciding on a one-semester suspension starting Apr 17.
The complaints resurfaced following another high-profile case involving students from the law faculty at the University of Indonesia, and also came on the heels of another past incident at the Bandung Institute of Technology.
Screenshots of a private chat group, allegedly involving IPB University’s students, circulated on social media platform X on Apr 14 after being posted by the account @ipb_menfess, with the content pointing to sexual harassment.
The messages showed several students using inappropriate language sexualising women’s body parts, while those who wished to join the group were reportedly required to assess and rate the women considered the most “gacor” - a slang implying sexual attractiveness.
The messages also indicated alleged attempts to silence victims, evidence of academic threats, and normalisation of inappropriate behaviour under the guise of “internal jokes”, local media reported, though there was no further information on what these entail.
While the conversations in the chat group occurred in 2024, they were only reported recently following the case at University of Indonesia where at least 20 female students and seven lecturers were reportedly harassed in a similar student chat group.
State-run IPB University - formally known as the Bogor Agricultural Institute - is recognised for its agriculture, marine science and tropical biosciences programmes, among others. It is ranked among the top five universities in Indonesia by annual ranking publication QS World University Rankings.
IPB University’s engineering and technology faculty dean Slamet Budijanto said a joint team from the faculty and the campus security and protection office had summoned the complainant on Apr 15, after the university received the report a day earlier.
On Apr 16, the faculty called the parties involved for further investigation and evidence collection, then imposed sanctions in the form of a one-semester suspension on the 16 students found to be involved. The suspension took effect on Apr 17.
“Based on the examination process and available evidence, the faculty imposed a one-semester suspension on the 16 students,” he said.
Slamet warned that the suspension was intended as a deterrent measure for the student perpetrators to not reoffend, after the university’s team investigated the report it received.
He further stressed that IPB University does not tolerate or normalise any form of sexual violence under any circumstances.
Meanwhile, the university said that it stands with the victims and will prioritise their protection and recovery.
“Restoration of victims’ rights, both academically and socially; provision of psychological assistance and ongoing support; guarantees of protection from pressure, intimidation, and stigma; as well as strengthening safe spaces for victims and complainants," said Alfian Helmi, the university’s Director of Cooperation, Communication, and Marketing.
IPB University’s Student Executive Board (BEM) President Muhammad Abdan Rofi confirmed the incident occurred in 2024 and said that both the alleged perpetrators and the two purported victim were from the same cohort in the mechanical and biomedical engineering department, which is part of the engineering and technology faculty.
Abdan also said that the case had initially been resolved internally in 2024 through mediation by senior students within the department, but resurfaced after the sexual harassment case at the University of Indonesia.
IPB University has been investigating the case intensively, he added, with academic sanctions discussed prior to the perpetrators' suspension.
“Currently, mediation between the parties is being handled by the faculty’s dean, with support from the institution and BEM,” he said.
Separately, the Mining Student Association of Indonesia’s Bandung Institute of Technology issued a formal apology on Apr 15 following widespread controversy over a viral video featuring an explicit song performed by the institute’s students.
The clip appeared to be resurfaced footage at a 2020 event, the Jakarta Post previously reported.
The song sparked backlash for objectifying women in sexual innuendos, while association leaders admitted that performing the decades-old song was a grave oversight failing to align with modern ethical standards and the institution's academic values.
Indonesian lawmakers on Apr 20 pressed the government and university leaders to strengthen campus sexual harassment safeguards following the recent spate of cases, including that of a Padjadjaran University professor from its Faculty of Nursing who allegedly sent lewd messages to an exchange student.
The Jakarta Post reported that House of Representatives Commission X overseeing education summoned officials from the Higher Education, Science and Technology Ministry and rectors from several major universities to review their prevention and response mechanisms, including the Task Force for the Prevention and Handling of Violence in Higher Education (PPKPT).
Speaking after the meeting, higher education ministry secretary-general Badri Munir Sukoco said the government shared deep concern over sexual harassment on campus, while noting that the rising number of reports also reflected improved reporting channels through the PPKPT.
Indonesia’s National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded 376,529 cases of gender-based violence against women in Indonesia in 2025, with sexual violence being the most reported form, accounting for nearly 38 per cent.
