This story contains references to sexual abuse.
Indonesia's parliament has passed a long-awaited bill to tackle sexual violence, aimed at providing a legal framework for victims to secure justice in a country where sexual abuse has often been regarded as a private matter.
A majority of MPs backed the bill at the plenary session in parliament, overcoming opposition from some conservative groups in the world's biggest Muslim majority country after six years of deliberation.
"We hope that the implementation of this law will resolve sexual violence cases," speaker Puan Maharani said on Tuesday.
The bill has been broadly welcomed by activists, though some have objected to its limited scope, with only some sex crimes included and the omission of a specific clause on rape, which the government has said will be included in other legislation.
"This is surely a step forward," said Asfinawati, a law expert at Jentera school of law, who has assisted sexual violence victims, while noting definitions of rape currently covered under the criminal code should still be made clearer.
