TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The commuter line operator PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI) Vice President Corporate Communications, Eva Chairunisa, said that sexual harassment in commuter line was hard to be detected by the closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera. Eva reasoned that the act commonly occurred when passengers fully boarded the train.

“Sexual harassment usually occurs when the train is full with passengers so CCTV cannot record it,” said Eva Tuesday, March 12, at Sudirman Station, Central Jakarta.

According to Eva, deploying officers on the train was not an effective effort to prevent sexual harassment. Moreover, in a condition where the train cars loaded by thousands of passengers.

Read also: KCI Campaigns Against Sexual Harassment Aboard Commuter Line

“On talks about security measure, there are some 1,600 passengers in a train, so it’s impossible if we assign a thousand police officers,” Eva added.

Therefore, KCI held an event to raise public awareness of sexual harassment in commuter lines as its best strategy to prevent such an act.

Eva called on all passengers to take care of themselves to avoid possible sexual harassment or robbery. For example, by not busily using a smartphone or wearing a headset on board and not place a smartphone, wallet or other valuable things in the back pants pocket. Eva also underlined that passengers should stay awake during their trip.

The KCI recorded a total of 34 reported cases of sexual harassment in 2018 which were taking place aboard commuter lines. The figure increased when compared to the previous year’s 25 cases. Unfortunately, only 20 victims reported their experience to the police.

LANI DIANA WIJAYA