Sexual Violence Law Reform: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Sexual violence law has expanded rapidly, but legal recognition does not automatically produce justice. This systematic narrative review synthesises legal and socio-legal evidence on criminal justice attrition, credibility discounting, forensic and investigative pathways, survivor-centred rights, digital sexual abuse, and Indonesian law reform. The review used a PRISMA-oriented, stratified synthesis of empirical studies, doctrinal-empirical scholarship, official law-reform reports, and legal instruments from 2010–2026. Forty-five author-reported evidence items were organised by evidentiary function rather than treated as equivalent proof of effectiveness. The synthesis shows that attrition is generated across reporting, investigation, prosecution, trial, and post-judgment remedies; that credibility assessments remain vulnerable to rape myths and behavioural stereotypes; and that forensic evidence systems, digital takedown mechanisms, restitution, and survivor information rights are implementation architecture rather than optional supports. Indonesia’s Law Number 12 of 2022 is positioned as a comparative reform case because it links offence taxonomy with victim protection and restitution, yet its value depends on institutional capacity, fair procedure, data monitoring, and local service delivery. The review concludes that sexual violence law reform is strongest when criminalisation, survivor agency, evidentiary safeguards, and due process are designed as one accountable justice system.