Tisa Windayani, a student in the Doctoral Program in Law at the Faculty of Law, Universitas Gadjah Mada (PDIH FH UGM), officially earned her doctoral degree after successfully defending her dissertation entitled “The Existence of Criminal Provisions in the Exclusive Breastfeeding Program for Infants.” The public dissertation defense was held on Wednesday (14/1/2026) in Room 3.1.1, Building 3, First Floor, FH UGM.
Tisa’s research was motivated by the phenomenon of the increasingly expansive use of criminal law, often referred to as overcriminalization, in various Indonesian laws and regulations. Specifically, she examined the ratio legis underlying the criminal provisions governing the Exclusive Breastfeeding Program, as stipulated in Law No. 36 of 2009 on Health and Law No. 17 of 2023 on Health, which serve as legal instruments for protecting the right to health of mothers and infants.
Through the lens of the principle of utility, Tisa identified significant challenges in the implementation of these criminal provisions. Her findings indicate that, from a formal legislative perspective, the criminalization of acts that obstruct exclusive breastfeeding programs was not supported by adequate explanations regarding the balance between rights and obligations, nor did it sufficiently consider the broader impact on social relationships within families and workplaces.
Based on her findings, Tisa recommended the decriminalization of acts obstructing exclusive breastfeeding programs within the family sphere. During her public defense, she explained that “criminal provisions within the family context fail to satisfy the principle of utility because their potential negative consequences may ultimately harm the very mothers and infants they are intended to protect.” Instead, she advocated for strengthening educational approaches as a more effective alternative for family members, particularly the husbands of breastfeeding mothers. With regard to the workplace sector, she proposed a reformulation of the existing provisions to ensure greater legal certainty (lex certa) and to position criminal sanctions as an ultimum remedium, to be applied only after administrative sanctions have been exhausted.
The doctoral promotion examination was chaired by Dahliana Hasan, S.H., M.Tax., Ph.D., as Head of the Examination Committee. Dr. Supriyadi, S.H., M.Hum. and Sri Wiyanti Eddyono, S.H., LL.M. (HR)., Ph.D. served as Promotor and Co-Promotor, respectively. The examining committee also included Prof. Dr. Marcus Priyo Gunarto, S.H., M.Hum., Dr. Sigid Riyanto, S.H., M.Si., Dr. Rimawati, S.H., M.Hum., and dr. Likke Putri, MPH., Ph.D. from the Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing (FKKMK UGM).
The successful completion of Dr. Tisa Windayani’s doctoral studies reflects FH UGM’s strong commitment to supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being)through the protection of maternal and child health, and SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions) through the promotion of a more equitable, proportionate, and humane approach to criminal law reform. It is hoped that this dissertation will not only enrich academic discourse in the fields of criminal law and health law but also provide practical recommendations for improving the regulation of exclusive breastfeeding programs in Indonesia.
Author: Wisnu Arya Audanta (Part-Time Staff, Doctoral Program in Law)
