Jakarta's Public Transportation among the Most Unsafe for Women
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30 November -0001 00:00 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Jakarta is ranked the ninth most unsafe megacity in the world for women. Its public transport system is the fifth most dangerous, according to research conducted by the Thomas Reuters Foundation. The government and transport companies have taken a few steps to address the issue, but a number of critics and activists say they are not enough.
Consider the experiences of the 600 000 plus people who ride buses run by PT Transportasi Jakarta (Transjakarta) each day. Bus stations are bursting with patrons and security guards at virtually all hours every day.
One of the first things you will notice when you board a Transjakarta bus is a sign instructing passengers to not sexually harass others. This is positioned right next to a sign instructing passengers to not eat food on the bus.
A Transjakarta staff member monitors people's behavior and enforces the sex segregation rules, which designates the front of the bus as being for women only. Most women take their position at the front of the bus while men are ushered to the back, sometimes accompanied by their spouses. The back area of the bus is an open area, and women are permitted to sit there if they choose.
Creating women-only areas aims to curb harassment, but sex segregation policies have been the subject of extensive debate around the world. Transjakarta President Director Agung Wicaksono, however, believes the system is working for Transjakarta.
Signs on the Transjakarta bus. Doc.: Alice Leggett, Astrid Pramesuari, Jack Jones, Jessica Dyra
“We have searched media reports and there hasn’t been any sexual harassment news at Transjakarta in the last one year,” he says. “Therefore, it is not wise to highlight this issue again while we have stepped up measures.” He also notes Transjakarta have procedures in place to handle and report cases of harassment as well as women-only buses.
Many believe sex segregation isn't the answer, or, at least, isn’t a long-term answer. Hollaback! Jakarta, an NGO aimed at ending sexual harassment on public transport, agrees on this matter.
“In the long-run, women-only carriages are not a solution, because it says the problem is women,” says the Hollaback! Jakarta`s co-director Anindya Restuviani. “Women aren’t the problem. Men who sexually harass women are the problem. The only long-term solution is to educate people early to not sexually harass.”
She argues solutions such as sex segregation are systematic of Indonesian governments and transport companies, who she claims have lacked major and consistent engagement with the issue. “I don’t think the government realizes this is a problem. Most of the public transport directors are men, so they don’t really think about the issue.”