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video depicting alleged sexual harassment on a commuter train on the Bogor line recently went viral.

In the short video, a man could be seen rubbing his genitals against two female victims, who did nothing except move away from the man.

The video went viral after Chrisna Waty, a 21-year-old college student, uploaded it on Japanese messaging app LINE.

After Chrisna recorded the alleged sexual harassment, the man moved toward her, but she quickly got off the train before the man could get closer to her.

After the traumatic incident, Chrisna decided to upload the video along with a description of her experience on LINE.

“I didn’t think the post would go viral. It was just intended as a warning for other women to be wary of the man,” Chrisna told The Jakarta Post.

Besides putting the video on LINE, Chrisna also shared the story on Hollaback! Jakarta, a website-based support group where victims of harassment in public spaces can freely share their experiences.

Since then, other people have come forward to say they have witnessed the same man sexually harassing other passengers on the commuter line.

“After my post went viral, I found out there were other victims, which makes me pretty angry,” said Chrisna.

However, none of the witnesses had confronted the man or reported him to the police, including Chrisna, who said she preferred to raise awareness about sexual harassment.

Ida Ruwaida Noor, a sociologist at the University of Indonesia, said that remaining a passive witness was typical of an urban society, which has a tendency to be self-centered.

“The witness would think, ‘Should I help them [the victim]? And if I do, what are the risks? What’s in it for me?’” Ida said.

Therefore, some people simply cannot be bothered to report witnessing sexual harassment as it could prove troublesome for them, she added.

Furthermore, people were inclined to look out for themselves under the sociology context, said Ida.

Reporting a case is even harder when you are the victim.

There is no legal basis to prosecute a perpetrator of sexual harassment in a public space in Indonesia, and it therefore depends on whether the institution approached wants to handle the case, Ida said.

Therefore, a lot of witnesses and victims opt to share their experiences on social media.

Ida said it was good for people to share what they went through so that others could learn.

“But what concerns me is the treatment of the case in the formal sense,” she said.

Seeing how many people use social media to report sexual harassment, the government, under the Integrated Women’s and Children’s Center (P2TP2A), should introduce online services to make it easier for people to file reports, Ida said.

She also suggested listing information on social media on where to report experiencing or witnessing sexual harassment in public spaces.

But what is more important is that authorities properly process the reports to bring the perpetrators to justice, Ida said.

“The authorities often corner victims of sexual harassment, instead of protecting them and providing a sense of safety,” she said.

From 16 major cities in the world, Jakarta is listed as having the fifth most dangerous transportation system for women.

The ranking is based on a 2016 survey on the safeness of public transportation for women in 16 cities by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and YouGov.

— Devina Halim, an intern, contributed to this story