One out of every two Indonesians recently surveyed revealed that he or she had been sexually harassed in a public space before turning 16 years or age.

The forms of reported sexual harassment were varied and included catcalling, unwanted touch, groping and sexual
insinuation.

Up to 62,000 people across Indonesia participated in the survey, which was conducted during the 16 Days of Activism to Eliminate Violence Against Women at the end of 2018.

The survey was jointly organized by various women’s rights organizations, namely Hollaback Jakarta, perEMPUan, Lentera Sintas Indonesia and the Jakarta Feminist Discussion Group. The questionnaire was distributed through change.org.

According to the survey report, 62.3 percent of the respondents were women, 37.6 percent male and the remaining fell into the “other gender identity” category.

The survey findings also showed that most cases of sexual harassment in public spaces occurred on the street (33 percent), on modes of public transportation and bus stops (19 percent) and at schools or universities (15 percent).

Women’s rights organizations said they were hoping that the survey would not only increase public awareness of the importance of campaigning against sexual harassment in public spaces, but also serve as a wake-up call for the House of Representatives to soon pass a long-awaited sexual violence bill.

In February, the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) faction at the House rejected the passing of the bill, saying it took a “liberal perspective” that contradicts Pancasila and religious values.

“I really hope that this survey will be solid evidence that we really need to pass the sexual violence bill. There is currently no legal protection available for [victims of] any of the kinds of sexual harassment that we see in the survey,” Vivi Restuviani of Hollaback! Jakarta told The Jakarta Post on Saturday.

Vivi said they also hoped that the survey would inspire the public to be more aware and eventually stop ignoring sexual harassment.

“Any kind of sexual harassment should never be regarded as normal because it will traumatize the victims. Many people remain ignorant about this issue. We want to change this,” she said.

In the survey, 56 percent of the respondents said they had stood up for themselves against the alleged harassers. However, in 38 percent of those cases, the perpetrators remained ignorant when they were confronted, while 36 percent swore at and mocked the victims.

Lentera Sintas founder Wulan Danoekoesoemo said that many people still think that sexual harassment commonly happens in private spaces and were not aware of the different forms of sexual harassment. She said most of them also do not know how to react when something like that happens to them.

“When a form of sexual harassment happens in a public space, people can see it and have the chance to intervene. But they do nothing because they don’t think it constitutes sexual harassment,” Wulan said.

According to the survey, respondents said that most cases of sexual harassment happened in the daytime (35 percent), in the afternoon (25 percent), in the evening (21 percent) and in the morning (17 percent).

The perception contradicts the popular opinion that most cases happened at night, which inspired policy makers to limit the mobility of mostly women after sunset to “protect” them from unwanted harassment.

The most recent was a call from North Aceh Regent Muhammad Thaib for women in her regency to not to go out in the evening without their husbands or muhrim (blood relatives) accompanying them.

The survey also dismisses the common assumption that sexual harassment was often triggered by what the victim was wearing.

Respondents in the survey said they were wearing modest outfits when the harassment happened. Up to 18 percent of them said they were wearing skirts or a pair of pants when it happened, 17 percent were wearing headscarves and 16 percent long-sleeved shirts. Moreover, 14 percent of respondents said they were wearing loose clothing or school uniforms.

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