Suwendi - Lecturer of the Graduate School of UIN Jakarta

The issue of sexual violence (KS) in the pesantren environment has received wide public attention. A number of cases that have emerged not only cause anger against the perpetrators, but also give birth to problematic tendencies, namely a destructive stigma against Islamic boarding schools as Islamic educational institutions. This in turn shifts the public discourse from criticism of criminal acts to generalizations of Islamic boarding schools.

This condition needs to be responded to carefully. Because, in the framework of social justice and religious ethics, there is a fundamental differentiation between the accountability of perpetrators and the stigmatization of Islamic boarding school institutions. When this differentiation is blurred, the community will be trapped in simplification that is not only unfair, but also counterproductive to the prevention of KS itself.

In Islamic teachings, the principle of justice is a very fundamental basic teaching. QS. Al-Maidah [5]:8 reminds that hatred of a group does not encourage someone to act unjustly. This normative message teaches that the assessment of a case should be based on facts in a proportionate manner, not on prejudice or "gebyah usalt". Therefore, what is reprobated in the actions of KS in a pesantren are the perpetrators, the network that protects the perpetrators, and the systems and conditions that allow violations to occur, not necessarily against the pesantren institution as a religious education entity.

This view is relevant to the perspective of Islamic education. This is because the essence of Islamic education is actually not just the transmission of knowledge, but the process of forming human beings who are moral, dignified, and able to maintain the benefits of life. Therefore, sexual violence is actually an act that is diametrically counterproductive to the basic values of Islamic education itself.

From this perspective, the case of KS in the pesantren environment cannot be understood as a manifestation of pesantren teachings or Islamic education, but as a deviation of behavior towards pesantren values. Identifying the pesantren with the actions of the perpetrators is the same as saying that the act of corruption by an official represents the government system as a whole; or that the act of violating the ethics of a lecturer describes the university as a whole. Of course, this kind of logic does not meet the principle of academic objectivity at all.

In this context, the idea of religious moderation becomes very relevant. Religious moderation developed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs pays strong attention to the principles of tawassuth (middle way), i'tidal (justice), and tawazun (balance). These principles teach that every issue must be understood in its entirety and proportionately, avoiding exaggeration and denial of facts.

From the perspective of religious moderation, there are at least two attitudes that must be done at the same time. First, not tolerating the slightest practice of KS and strengthening law enforcement against perpetrators. Second, do not use the case of certain individuals as an argument to delegitimize all Islamic boarding school institutions. Both are part of a commitment to justice.

Moderation emphasizes proportional attitudes, namely rejecting excessive attitudes (ifrath) as well as reduction (tafrith). In this context, proportionality means the courage to admit the existence of a problem without losing objectivity in assessing the institution. On the contrary, the attitude of covering up cases is clearly contrary to the values of honesty and accountability that religion teaches.

Pesantren is basically a miniature of society. In it there are people with diverse backgrounds, cultures, characters, and potentials. Like other educational institutions, pesantren are inseparable from the possibility of behavioral deviations. However, this division does not necessarily eliminate the contribution of Islamic boarding schools, historically and even until now, in fostering education, empowering the community, strengthening national values, and fostering the morals of the nation's children.

EMIS (Education Management Information System) data from the Ministry of Religion of the Republic of Indonesia at the end of 2025 recorded that there are 42,391 Islamic boarding schools that every day carry out educational processes for around 2.5 million students. This pesantren carries out its function as an institution of education, da'wah, and social empowerment normally. This fact is not intended to downplay the cases that occur, but to keep public opinion from getting caught up in overgeneralization, that is, drawing general conclusions based on specific cases.

For this reason, the agenda that should be carried out immediately is not to strengthen the stigma of KS against pesantren, but to strengthen the protection system in the pesantren environment. Islamic boarding schools need to be strengthened to build a KS prevention mechanism, a safe complaint system, education about healthy relationships, and more transparent and accountable institutional governance. This effort is much more constructive than simply expanding stereotypes that ultimately do not benefit victims or institutions.

In the perspective of Islamic education, the process of improvement (ishlah) is always prioritized over mere social sanctions. Meanwhile, from the perspective of religious moderation, justice requires the courage to reject evil without judging the entire community. These two perspectives teach that partiality towards the victim and objectivity towards institutions are not two contradictory things.

As a result, KS must be positioned as a shared challenge that can occur anywhere when oversight is weakened and power is abused. Our biggest challenge is not only punishing the perpetrators, but also how to build systems and mechanisms that can anticipate new victims. For this reason, the public space requires a more mature reasoning: to side with justice, to reject impunity, but also to avoid stigmas that simplify reality.

This is because pesantren is actually not a place that protects KS perpetrators, but an institution that maintains human dignity as one of the main goals of Islamic education. At this point, destigmatization does not mean defending Islamic boarding schools, but efforts to uphold justice in a whole, proportional, and civilized manner.

This article was also published on https://kemenag.go.id/opini/destigmatisasi-kekerasan-seksual-pada-pesantren-WaqDM