What an Ignorant Society has Done to Victims of Sexual Harassment

Sexual harassment has been deeply rooted in society, but that does not mean that it has to stay forever. In fact, society needs to work cooperatively so that such cases can be decreased or even banished. However, this intention is difficult to reach if sexual harassment or assault victims are often underestimated, oppressed, or subdued. Gathering the courage to report is already troublesome and takes time for them. The acts of underestimating, suppressing or belittling their voices will only worsen their condition, which will be a poor example for the other victims who have not spoken up yet. Although Indonesian society has grown better regarding sexual harassment matters, the reactions that they show on cases like this put them far from handling this issue successfully. 

Citing an article written on mediaindonesia.com, National Commission on Violence Against Women (KOMNAS Perempuan) stated that these past twelve years, sexual harassment cases towards women increased up to 800%. The fact that the number of cases built up is already wrong, let alone an 800% increase. In 2021, 426 sexual assault cases have been recorded up until March 16, 2021. If there are already such numbers of cases so far, who knows how many could it be until the end of the period? This is the time where we have to try our best to prevent and stop the numbers from growing. However, there’s much more to it. 

A psychologist in Pulih Foundation, Ika Putri Dewi explained that while she chaperoned the victims, many of them have chosen to keep quiet about the assaults that they got for several reasons. Some of them have seen how society handled news like this and usually it always went south. The victims were mostly afraid that the sexual abuse they received could represent a disgrace tainted on their lives. Moreover, most media are cornering the victims with their headlines . One example might be, “Pulang dari Tempat Hiburan Malam, Mahasiswi ini Mengaku Diperkosa” (While returning from a nightclub, a student admitted that she was raped) or “Memakai Pakaian Terbuka, Perempuan ini Mengaku Diperkosa” (A woman reported that she was raped while wearing sexy outfits). The media could opt another way to create a headline, such as stating that the student was raped without informing where she was coming from as if it would make any difference. No matter where people go or come from, they should not be raped at all. Sadly, people still fall for this clickbait and choose to ridicule the victims instead. 

Another result of the underestimation society shows on cases like this is that the victims have this fear where they will not be trusted for their reports. Once the reports go wrong, they can only fear the negative consequences that they will receive from the abuser. They are also questioning the legal procedure whenever the police handle cases like this because they have seen too many sexual harassment cases that are left unattended and abandoned. They are afraid that the same thing will also happen to them. What is worse is that victims who report the sexual harassment could also be reported with any law articles possible. For instance, Baiq Nuril who reported a verbal sexual assault towards her was also reported for violating information and electronic translation act (UU ITE). 

Last but not least, sexual harassment that occur in the workplace could lead the victims to loss of jobs. This is bizarre when they are put in disadvantage, yet they still have to bite the bullet. The abuse of power that the higher-ups use on their subordinates at work may result in the silence of the victims. They are so afraid of losing their jobs and not being able to find a job elsewhere, hence they opt to keep quiet and they have no power to fight back. Some of them might report the assaults to the HRD, but not many of them get the conclusion that they wish for. Some of them, again, underestimate their reports and tell them that the victims just cannot accept a “friendly gesture”,  which is totally out of line. Case like this occurred in a 23-year-old woman who was assaulted in her workplace and got shunned by her boss who told her that she was too conservative to understand a “friendly gesture”, as reported in ABC Indonesia. 

This is what an ignorant society is doing to the victims of sexual abuse. The fact that they are experiencing consequences for reporting the sexual assault that they receive is already ridiculous. It is great that people are becoming more aware of cases like this, but we cannot deny that there are still a bigger portion of them who belittle things like this.

Editor: Adhitya Fajar Ramadhan & Audrey Keita

References

• Iswara, A. J. (Ed.). (2020, May 11). Mengapa Perempuan Korban Pelecehan Seksual Cenderung Enggan Melapor? Halaman all. KOMPAS.com. https://www.kompas.com/global/read/2020/05/11/210551670/mengapa-perempuan-korban-pelecehan-seksual-cenderung-enggan-melapor?page=all. 
• Kartinah, E. (2021, March 30). Kekerasan Seksual pada Perempuan, Mengapa Korban Pilih Diam. Media Indonesia. https://mediaindonesia.com/humaniora/394395/kekerasan-seksual-pada-perempuan-mengapa-korban-pilih-diam. 
• Souisa, H., & Salim, N. (2020, May 8). Mengapa Perempuan Korban Pelecehan Seksual Cenderung Enggan Melapor?ABC News. https://www.abc.net.au/indonesian/2020-05-09/alasan-korban-pelecehan-seksual-tak-mau-melapor/12226414.