TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Sexual harassment is 'absolutely rampant' in Indonesian workplaces, and current laws often persecute victims rather than support them, experts say. Indonesian women, activists and victims believe it’s time for legal and social change.

When feminist activist Kate Walton did research into sales promotion girls, they told her that none of their companies have any policies against sexual harassment.

“There was one girl who told me she’d been harassed by a customer who grabbed her hand and wanted to get her phone number. She reported this to her supervisor who told her that she should go with it and maybe even if she wore sexier clothing she might sell more products.”

In addition to employers not being sympathetic, the legal system also offers limited support, as is seen in the current case of sexual harassment victim Baiq Nuril Makum. Women’s rights activists are calling for legal and social change after she was sentenced to six months in jail for speaking out about her experience.

The 37-year-old administration officer at a West Nusa Tenggara High School, claims to have been verbally harassed by the principal, who allegedly phoned her several times and shared details of his sexual activities with another woman.

After a recording of this phone call was circulated online, the Supreme Court found Nuril guilty of defamation, in violation of Indonesia’s electronic information and transactions law (‘ITE law’).

Infographic 1 on sexual harassment. Credit: Chelsea Cosgrave

Nirmala Ika, Psychologist and Executive Coordinator of the psychological non-profit organisation Yayasan Pulih, says Nuril’s case highlights a big problem with Indonesian law and encourages other sexual harassment victims to keep quiet. “The ITE law and laws relating to sexual harassment are not connected and do not support each other.”

Walton says in Indonesian workplaces, sexual harassment is “absolutely rampant”, coming from customers, colleagues, supervisors and partners.

“The ITE law is just one of the many barriers faced by women who want to report it,” she says.

“One friend was telling me, just the other week, a manager and a younger female staff member were walking down the stairs and when she said ‘You go first,’ he replied, ‘No you go first. I’d like to look at your bum as you walk.’”

But Walton says naming perpetrators or companies involved in sexual harassment can mean victims are socially ridiculed or even worse, sent to jail.

When women’s activist Tunggal Pawestri started Indonesia’s version of #MeToo, #SayaJuga, 200 people on Twitter responded within just two hours, sharing their own experiences of sexual harassment before consoling other victims on the social media platform. However, because of Indonesian laws similar to those that sent Nuril to prison, the silence breaking movement hasn’t been as successful as it has in the West.

“In the US, there were lots of high profile women who spoke out in the #MeToo campaign, but this hasn’t happened in Indonesia,” Pawestri says.

“If we put something online saying that we have experienced sexual harassment, we will be accused of defamation and be put in jail.”

Victims can’t get recourse from their workplace either. “Most HR staff aren’t trained on these issues,” Walton says. “They will either laugh it off or tell you to stop being so serious.”

Part of this issue stems from Indonesia’s patriarchal and hierarchical culture, Walton says. “People don’t like to question this hierarchy or go against it, so people are very hesitant to speak up about sexual harassment, particularly women who hold less power.”

Workplace discrimination starts at the point of the hiring process when female candidates are often picked based on their beauty and marital status, Walton says.

Infographic on sexual harassment. Credit: Chelsea Cosgrave

Lawyer and former volunteer at Human Rights Watch, Kristi Ardiana, talks about her personal experience.

“Every day I would hear so many comments about women’s bodies, like ‘Oh wow, this new employee is so pretty’ and ‘Oh yeah, she has a nice ass,’ and people don’t speak up about it, they just laugh about it. Even women.

“Because things like catcalling happen on a daily basis, it impacts how we treat each other in the workplace.”

Pawestri notes similar tolerance among Indonesians, pointing to the response of 70 students she met a few weeks ago when she visited their university to discuss sexual harassment.

“When I asked some questions, they were a bit unsure, saying ‘Oh is that sexual harassment? No, it’s common, it’s fine.’ Some people just don’t know, or they have just gotten used to it.”

Victim blaming is another barrier for victims seeking justice, Ardiana says.

“There was a case of sexual harassment at my university where the perpetrator was a law lecturer. I read a statement from the faculty where they made an analogy of fish and cats. It said, ‘If you put a fish in front of a cat, then obviously the cat is going to eat it.’

“Also, the first question victims get is ‘what were you wearing?’” she says.

“A couple of years ago, a woman was raped by a TransJakarta worker on a bus. At the trial, the judge asked her to bring in the skirt that she was wearing.”

“Non-reporting of sexual harassment can also stem from a lack of adequate policies which protect women or awareness about these policies in the workplace,” says Balawyn Jones, a Doctor of Philosophy student at the University of Melbourne, who’s researching women’s rights and domestic violence in Indonesia.

There is currently no law to protect women from such uncomfortable and sometimes even violent cases, which means many Indonesian companies don’t have sexual harassment policies or standards of procedure.

Nestle Indofood Citarasa Indonesia is one example. The implementation of a sexual harassment policy is not a priority because the company is more concerned about policies relating to payment and healthcare, a company spokesperson says.

In the rare case that companies do have policies, Nirmala Ika says they are only words on paper.

“According to our research on multiple companies, they have yet to implement it,” she says.

Pawestri agrees. “If companies have policies, the issue is the implementation. It’s still difficult for victims to report especially if the company doesn’t have experience in dealing with the issue.

“You need a policy, which is well implemented, and then you need a national policy, or at least local government regulations on sexual harassment. Once this is done, maybe victims will feel less scared to report because they might get a good result.”

Jones concurs. “Action needs to be taken at both the state level with legislation and policies protecting women from sexual harassment in the workplace and in the private sector at a company level.

Infographic on sexual harassment. Credit: Chelsea Cosgrave

“Women need to have legal rights, but they also need education about their rights and support systems that provide adequate responses if women choose to exercise their legal rights.”

Even though there is a flourishing young feminist movement in Indonesia, Walton says it has been incredibly hard to build their advocacy enough to modify current laws that relate to sexual harassment.

“There’s a draft law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence that has been sitting in parliament since 2014. Basically, whatever we do, we just can’t get it ratified,” she says.

“We’re pushing to get it passed before the election in April next year or we’ll have to start again.”

Walton notes sexual harassment is a worldwide problem, not just an Indonesian one.

“The main difference is that Western countries like Australia have laws against workplace sexual harassment, but whether it’s really having an effect is another question,” she says.

“This issue isn’t unique to Indonesia. Really it’s not that different. It’s just the patriarchy, presented in different forms.”

Aoife Scales, Chelsea Cosgrave, Aurelia Michelle R and Benedictus Billy Brilianditya

Aoife Scales and Chelsea Cosgrave visited Indonesia with support from the Australian Government’s New Colombo Plan mobility program.