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For Indonesian women threats persist amid a lack of protection
Indonesian women remain in a hazardous living environment where the law doesn't seem to protect them.
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Women demand an end to the cycle of violence against women neglected by the state on International Women’s Day 2020 (Antara/Galih Pradipta)
Pychita Julinanda
(Contributor/Jakarta)
"I am disappointed, but at this point, I don't really have any expectation nor faith," Anindya “Anin” Shabrina Prasetiyo said.
The 25-year old was a student activist sued for defamation under the controversial Electronic Information and Transactions (ITE) Law. This happened after she posted an account on Facebook alleging sexual harassment by police officers during an unauthorized raid on the Papua Student Alliance's weekly discussion in Surabaya, East Java, in 2018. In her post, she also mentioned reporting the harassment to Surabaya Police Internal Affairs, a report that was left unprocessed.
For Anin, being a sexual assault survivor is hard enough, but the criminalization by officials supposedly responsible for protecting victims such as herself after the case was reported was staggering. It was so traumatic that Anin was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. It does not help that officers have paid visits to her home, under the guise of bringing her food and checking on her wellbeing. The case remains ongoing but Anin has refused to testify and remains under surveillance.
"I had to go to a psychiatrist who prescribed me sedatives to reduce my anxiety and paranoia, [which is] triggered by small things such as hearing the sound of a police siren when I'm eating or driving,” she said
