Indonesian university suspends six students over verbal harassment allegations

Universitas Negeri Surabaya (Unesa) has taken action against six male students, suspending them from all campus activities due to alleged verbal harassment. The university's Task Force for Prevention and Handling of Violence (Satgas PPK) is currently investigating the accusations.

Iman Pasu Marganda Hadiarto Purba, head of the Satgas PPK, stated that the suspension is a procedural step to facilitate the investigation and is not a final sanction. The case originated from reports concerning unethical conversations within a WhatsApp group involving the six vocational program students.

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The accused are suspended from all academic activities, except for matters related to fulfilling the obligations of the case investigation. This is not a final sanction, but part of the handling procedure.

These conversations reportedly contained messages that objectified female students and lecturers. The alleged harassment came to light after these chat logs circulated widely before being officially reported to the Satgas PPK. The university is handling the case in accordance with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology's regulations on preventing and handling violence within higher education institutions, prioritizing victim perspectives, justice, confidentiality, and caution.

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The case involves verbal violence that occurred in a student group chat containing unethical messages about their friends and also some of their lecturers.