Guide to Creating SOP for Press Companies to Overcome Sexual Violence in the World of Work

"Not many victims of sexual violence dare to speak out. Even if they dare to speak out, sometimes the cases stop halfway because there are no specific regulations in the press company to handle cases of sexual violence."



This guide is designed to assist press companies in developing standard operating procedures (SOP) for handling sexual violence against female journalists. It outlines the main points that need to be included, as well as the principles that press companies need to follow when preparing SOPs.



As explained in the guide, a survey conducted by PR2Media and the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) Indonesia of 852 female journalists from 34 provinces in Indonesia showed that 82.6% (704) of respondents had experienced sexual violence throughout their journalistic careers. Of the 852 respondents, 57.2% of respondents stated that their office did not yet have an SOP to deal with sexual violence against female journalists, while 42.8% of respondents stated that their offices had SOPs. These SOPs can be in the form of special SOPs for handling sexual violence or a more general SOP, such as an SOP for the protection of journalists, which contains aspects of handling sexual violence. (See Related Summaries below for more information about this study). The research team also found that many press companies in Indonesia needed support in preparing SOPs for handling sexual violence against female journalists. This guide was developed to respond to this need.



The guide explains that an SOP for dealing with sexual violence against women journalists in a press company is an official document that outlines in detail the steps that must be taken by all parties within the organisation to prevent and deal with sexual violence against female journalists when carrying out their journalistic work. All parties here refer to all employees, the board of directors, and the commissioners or supervisory board of the press company.



The guide includes the following chapters:

• Sexual Violence in the World of Work - includes a definition of sexual violence and outlines the scope of the world of work and the factors that influence the occurrence of sexual violence in the world of work.
• Indonesian Law and Policy on Sexual Violence in the World of Work - looks at laws that address sexual violence in the workplace in Indonesia, including human rights law, criminal law, and labour law.
• The Importance of Press Companies Addressing Cases of Sexual Violence against Female Journalists - explains the need for press companies to develop internal policies to address sexual violence against female journalists, both through prevention and handling.
• Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) - describes what an SOP is, how to prepare one, and what the stages of SOP preparation are.
• SOP Components - explains the seven components that SOP drafters need to include in the SOP to address sexual violence against female journalists. They are:
  • Background, purpose, and scope of SOP
  • Legal basis
  • Definitions and explanations for key terms
  • Principles that need to be upheld in the SOP for handling sexual violence, such as being survivor-centred, non-judgemental, non-discriminatory, and independent and impartial
  • Prevention mechanism
  • Handling mechanism
• Attachment - includes a checklist for self-assessment to check whether SOPs cover the principles outlined in the guide.