Indonesia's Law Fails Victims of Sexual Harassment in Workplace
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1 January 2019 17:43 WIB
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.
