The Legal Aid Foundation of the Indonesian Women’s Association for Justice (LBH APIK) said it had received 1,178 reports of violence against women and children in 2020, a spike from 794 reported cases in 2019 and 837 in 2018.

Of last year's cases, 1,080 were reported from March -- when Indonesia announced its first COVID-19 cases and started imposing measures to contain the outbreak -- to November, according to LBH APIK, one of few leading organizations in Indonesia that focus on women's rights advocacy, including for victims of violence.

Domestic violence made up the largest share of the cases with 418 cases, an increase from 249 cases in 2019, followed closely by online gender-based violence with 307 cases.

"Online gender-based violence was on the list of the five most reported cases [in 2020]; it wasn't in the previous year. The rise in cases can be largely attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic as activities were done virtually," Uli Pangaribuan of LBH APIK said during the recent launch of its annual report.

An earlier report by the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) corroborated LBH APIK's findings about rising online gender-based violence during the pandemic. Komnas Perempuan data recorded that 659 cases of online sexual harassment or abuse were reported from January to October last year, more than double the 281 cases reported in 2019.

Read also: Victims of domestic violence struggle to access help during quarantine