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Female pedestrians face flashers in Jakarta
N, a woman from Depok, West Java, was left shocked after a motorcyclist flashed his genitals as she closed the front gate to her home after returning from a nearby store
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span>N, a woman from Depok, West Java, was left shocked after a motorcyclist flashed his genitals as she closed the front gate to her home after returning from a nearby store.
“At that time, my neighborhood was very quiet, nobody else was around. I was carrying my child at that time. If I was not carrying my child, I would have screamed at him, I would have chased and hit him,” N told kompas.com on last week.
A month prior, a 21-year-old identified as CA witnessed a man conducting a similar act from his car on the sidewalk of Jl. Gatot Subroto, South Jakarta, one of the busiest roads in the capital.
The man, CA said, opened his car window and exposed himself while masturbating.
Enraged by the indecent act, CA took a video of the man and posted it on social media.
“I took the video on purpose, so that people like him could go viral and receive consequences for their actions,” she said.
The video went viral and several days later, the South Jakarta Police arrested the man in his house in Bekasi, West Java. Police officers identified the man, who turned out to be an app-based ride hailing driver, by his car’s license plate captured in CA’s viral video.
These cases are just a couple of examples of similar situations experienced by women in Jakarta.
In December 2019, several high school students in Bekasi, West Java, also fell victim to a flasher. The female students were riding a motorcycle when another motorcyclist started riding behind them. The students then realized that the unidentified male was masturbating while riding his motorcycle. They sped up but the man continued to follow them. He left only after one of the students took out her mobile phone to record his actions.
Indecent exposure has long been a problem faced by women in the capital, with some having said they were left traumatized or felt unsafe after such incidents.
Riska said she felt scared and angry after witnessing a man masturbating on a pedestrian bridge on Jl. Sudirman, South Jakarta. It was two years ago but she said she remembered all the details.
“The incident took place around 7 p.m. I was walking to the Dukuh Atas Transjakarta bus stop after work and when I walked onto the pedestrian bridge I could see a man masturbating while looking down at the busy road,” she told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
Riska said when the man noticed her crossing the bridge, he turned toward her and continued to masturbate.
“I was scared and I tried so hard not to get angry. I was seven months pregnant at that time. If I was not pregnant I would’ve beaten that man,” she said.
Nadya, a 29-year-old from Buaran, Cakung, East Jakarta experienced a similar situation. She said even though it took place a long time ago when she was in junior high school, she still felt disgusted every time she thought about the incident.
“I was walking home from school and in a narrow alleyway I crossed paths with a man who was 30 to 40 years old. He was dressed nicely and wearing a messenger bag but when he got close to me he moved the bag. I was shocked when I saw that he had cut a large hole in his pants so he could expose his genitals,” Nadya said.
She said she wanted to scream but could not.
After hearing stories from her friends and colleagues, it was clear to Nadya that flashers continued to lurk in quiet places but she hoped the authorities could brief people on what to do when they faced indecent exposure and where they could report their cases.
“It would be even better if the Jakarta administration could install CCTV cameras on small and quiet roads and alleyways,” she said.
Clinical forensic psychologist Adityana Kasandra Putranto said flashing was a form of abnormal sexual desire.
“The cause of this condition is unknown to this day but it is suspected that the condition has to do with the patients’ sexual education and experience, as well as their social intelligence,” she said.
Adityana said flashers should receive professional to help them control their libido.
“Preventive measures are necessary. People need to be educated on how to prevent indecent exposure from occurring in their family. Because whether flashers can be treated really depends on the severity of their condition,” she said.
As for those that face flashers, Adityana suggests that victims try to remain calm and composed.
“Try to not to show any emotion, as expressing shame, fear or anger might only make the perpetrator happy and satisfied with their actions,” she said.
