The arrest of an alleged breast groper in Jakarta has sparked a discussion on the trivialization of sexual harassment in Indonesia, with netizens coming forward to share stories about their horrifying trauma as victims.
On May 23, a woman posted a video on Instagram showing her and her husband in their car chasing a motorcyclist in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta. The motorcyclist fell during the high-speed chase, and was later confronted by several angry men who thought that he was a pickpocket.
A woman on a bicycle then came into the scene and threw punches at the motorcyclist, as she was livid that he allegedly groped her breasts before he was chased by the car. The motorcyclist confessed to sexually harassing the woman, sparking even more anger from the men at the scene, who continued to beat him as they said sexual harassment was more deplorable than robbery.
Warning: The video below contains strong language and depictions of violence
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But the original poster of the video, Instagram user @jannah_ey, said she was also troubled by how someone made light of the sexual harassment. In a story post, she said a man came up to her to ask her what the commotion was all about, only to respond, “Oh, just breast groping. I thought she (the woman cyclist) was robbed.”
That story post has been shared widely online, including by viral content aggregator @AREAJULID on Twitter, prompting strong responses from netizens who were outraged by the trivialization of sexual harassment.
https://twitter.com/_penipumahir/status/1396773832581468167?s=20
You don’t know what it’s like to be a victim. Even though the incident happened years ago, every detail is still vivid, and the feelings are still vivid. When I remember the incident, I want to cry and go into self-loathing.
Pernah juga jadi korban sampe nangis ngejar2 pelakunya giliran udh dapet ada yg nanya ibu2 sama bpk2 di motor nanya *kenapa neng? Gue jwb aja *payudara saya di remes sama nih org. Eh malah dijwb lagi kata bpk2 nya*udah lepasin aja kirain kenapa cuma di pegang doang ampe segitunya
— Nindi Ayu Lestari (@ndyal_) May 24, 2021
I was a victim once, I ran after the culprit while crying and when we got him, a man and a woman on a motorbike asked me what happened, and I said, “he groped my breasts.” And then the man said, “Alright, let him go, he just touched her, I thought it was serious.”
buat org yg cuma bilang ini masalah sepele mending lo kesekolah lagi sana belajar !
buat org yg udh pernah ngalamin ini pasti tau sedalem apa trauma nya , sampe kyk Deket org tu bawaannya was was trus , naik motor kalo ada yg Deket dikit lgsg ngebut sampe kyk gitu— second☁️ (@tyoxo1) May 24, 2021
Those who are taking this lightly must go back to school. Those who have experienced this know how deep the trauma can be, to the point that they’re always on edge, and when they’re riding a motorcycle and if a motorcycle comes close, they will speed away.
The alleged breast groper, a 31-year-old man identified by his initials HP, was arrested by the police on the day of the incident. The suspect confessed to being sexually hyperactive, and to having groped the breasts of three random women, all of whom were either riding a bike alone or walking alone.
HP faces up to two years in prison for sexual harassment under the Criminal Code (KUHP).
