Law, Gender and Society (LGS) Holds Limited Seminar on Research Findings
On 1 February 2019, the Law, Gender and Society (LGS) of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada, held a Limited Seminar on Research Findings. The seminar was organized in collaboration with Monash University, Australia, under the theme “A Gender-Sensitive Approach to Women’s Empowerment for Building Peaceful and Tolerant Communities in Indonesia.” The seminar was also part of the series of events commemorating the 73rd anniversary of the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada.
The seminar was attended by academics and practitioners working in the fields of women’s empowerment and the development of tolerant communities in Indonesia. The event was also attended by Yuniati Chuzaifah, Deputy Chairperson of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), and Rachmat Hidayat, Ph.D., an academic from the Faculty of Philosophy, Universitas Gadjah Mada, as well as a researcher at the Masculinity Centre.
According to Sri Wiyanti Eddyono, S.H., LL.M. (HR), Ph.D., Chair of LGS and head of the research team, the seminar was an effort to demonstrate that universities should not merely function as “ivory towers” that are unresponsive to issues emerging in society. More importantly, the seminar represented a concrete contribution by the university as part of the implementation of the Tri Dharma of Higher Education. She explained that the increasing occurrence of acts of terrorism and the recruitment of participants by intolerant groups needed to be addressed and responded to appropriately by various stakeholders, particularly universities. The research sought, among other things, to examine the patterns of these developments, the conditions actually occurring within society, and the ideal approaches to addressing them.
According to Sri Wiyanti Eddyono, affectionately known as Bu Iyik, the research was the third continuation of research conducted in 2016 and 2017. The initial research, titled “A Gender Sensitive Approach in Empowering Women for Peaceful Communities in Indonesia,” was conducted in four regions of Indonesia. The research formed part of a series of studies led by Monash GPS for UN Women Asia and the Pacific in the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Indonesia. The research was conducted in Depok, Klaten, Cirebon, and Medan. Depok and Klaten were UN Women program locations, while Cirebon and Medan were non-UN Women program locations. The research had two main objectives: first, to reflect on empowerment programs and activities implemented in areas participating in the UN Women program; and second, to examine the role of women in supporting, opposing, or preventing violence associated with extremism, as well as how gender identity could contribute to intolerance and attract individuals to extremist groups and groups associated with extremist violence.
