EN 
ID Surabaya, 26 Mei 2025
We, Savy Amira Women’s Crisis Centre, together with the Gender and Health Studies Group of the Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Surabaya (KSGK UBAYA), and members of civil society, affirm the importance of recognizing the violence of May 1998 as a legitimate and undeniable part of Indonesia’s history. This recognition is not only a form of respect for the survivors, but also a foundation for sustaining a just and democratic civic space, including within academic institutions.
We believe that academic research and open discussions on this incident are essential to uncovering cross-sectoral violence through an intersectional perspective. This is crucial to ensure that historical narratives are not controlled by power, but shaped by the lived experiences of survivors and affected communities.
We call for the opening of safe, inclusive, and survivor-centered spaces for dialogue as an effort to preserve collective memory, strengthen solidarity, and prevent similar violence from recurring. Misleading historical narratives that ignore factual violence only reinforce stigma—particularly against women from ethnic minority groups, such as Chinese Indonesians, who were subjected to sexual violence during that period.
We urge the state to follow up on the findings of Komnas Perempuan and Komnas HAM, to investigate perpetrators of gross human rights violations, and to restore the rights of survivors. Government-led efforts to rewrite an “official history” without involving the public and survivors constitute historical denial and symbolic violence that endanger democracy.
We reject all forms of militarism and patriarchy in historical narratives, as both perpetuate state violence and erase survivors’ experiences, especially those of women. Without honest acknowledgment of sexual violence and femicide in history, we risk repeating similar cycles of violence in the future.
Based on the above, we put forward the following strategic recommendations:
• Strengthen survivor-centered historical narratives through an intersectional approach to prevent historical erasure and the reproduction of violence against women and vulnerable groups in the future, through critical thinking and action.
• Ensure critical oversight of the implementation of the Indonesian Armed Forces Law (UU TNI) and the expansion of militarism, led by coalitions of civil society and academics, including monitoring its impact on vulnerable groups.
• Guarantee state-led recovery and recognition for survivors of violence based on gender, ethnicity, religion, and political ideology as part of a broader commitment to transitional justice and a just society.
• Develop critical and impactful campus governance systems that integrate gender studies, histories of violence, and human rights across disciplines, fostering freedom of expression for all members of the academic community.
• Promote active collaboration between universities, civil society movements, and individuals in advocacy actions, public education, and the empowerment of survivor communities.