Joint Campaign Against Sexual Harassment on Public Transportation
Coinciding with the celebration of International Women's Day in March, L’Oréal Paris, together with PT JakLingko Indonesia and all transportation operators including PT KAI (Persero), PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI), PT LRT Jakarta, PT MRT Jakarta (Perseroda), and PT Transjakarta, held a joint campaign titled Stand Up “Against Sexual Harassment in Public Transportation.” The campaign aims to provide effective training to combat sexual harassment in public spaces, using the 5D Method (Divert, Report, Document, Confront, and Calm) which has been recognized by several experts as a safe, easy-to-apply, practical, and effective option for both witnesses and victims of sexual harassment, serving as a solution that can help witnesses take action confidently.
The event was also attended by the Director General of Railways (DJKA) of Indonesia, M. Risal Wasal, who represented the Minister of Transportation of Indonesia, Budi Karya Sumadi; the Deputy for the Protection of Women's Rights at the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection of Indonesia, Ratna Susianawati, who represented the Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection; the Head of the Jakarta Provincial Transportation Agency, Syafrin Liputo, who represented the Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta, Heru Budi Hartono; the Director of Human Resources & General Affairs of PT KAI (Persero), Suparno; the Director of Operations & Marketing of PT KCI, Broer Rizal; the President Director of PT JakLingko Indonesia, Mega Tarigan; the President Director of PT MITJ, Heru Nugrogo; CPD General Manager of L’Oréal Indonesia, Martin Crosnier; and actress as well as women’s empowerment activist, Cinta Laura. In addition to invited guests and speakers, representatives from the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan), DEMAND, and members of Transportation Communities were also present.
The Director General of Railways (DJKA) of the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation, Risal Wasal, stated that based on survey data conducted by DJKA in 2022 involving more than 2,000 respondents, female passengers dominated KRL Jabodetabek trips at 53%. With the high mobility of people in the Jabodetabek area, especially those using the KRL, in 2023 the average daily movement of people using the KRL reached more than 750,000 per day.
“Through this Joint Campaign Against Sexual Harassment in Public Transportation, I would like to remind and invite the public, especially public transportation users, to build awareness to safeguard the comfort and safety of everyone, particularly from acts of sexual harassment. Collaboratively with operators, we continue to make preventive efforts, but of course, these efforts require good cooperation from the public as users of public transportation. Therefore, let us protect the rights and dignity of women using public transportation and not take away the comfort and safety of other public transportation users.”
Public transportation belongs to all of us, and comfort and safety, especially protection from sexual harassment, are the rights of all transportation users. Therefore, I urge the public who use public transportation to always uphold the rights of other users so that everyone feels safe, comfortable, secure, and protected from sexual harassment. Let us together be good public transportation users who actively contribute to creating a comfortable, safe, and secure public transportation environment, and let us jointly oppose sexual harassment in public transportation.
“With this, I officially declare the Campaign Against Sexual Harassment in Public Transportation officially launched!” said Risal, marking the start of the joint campaign.
Jakarta Transportation Agency Head Syafrin Liputo stated that his agency continues to collaborate with the Jakarta Empowerment, Child Protection, and Population Control Agency to combat sexual harassment in public transport by consistently providing training to POS SAPA officers currently stationed at 23 Transjakarta bus stops, 13 MRT stations, and 6 LRT stations. POS SAPA serves as the nearest complaint post for the prevention and handling of violence against women and children. These officers are equipped with basic psychological skills to calm victims and are prepared to quickly hand over perpetrators to the police for immediate processing in accordance with Law Number 12 of 2022 concerning Sexual Violence Crimes.
"The Jakarta Provincial Government is committed to continuing efforts to ensure that there are no further indications of sexual harassment in public transportation services. Therefore, the measures being taken include the establishment of POS SAPA," added Syafrin.
The President Director of PT JakLingko Indonesia, Mega Tarigan, said, “This year, we have the opportunity to embrace all parties, especially transportation personnel and regional agencies, to synergize in mobilizing the campaign against sexual harassment in public transportation during International Women’s Day. We see the great benefit of building awareness in our surroundings, particularly for public transport users. It is hoped that this educational effort will help increase the sense of safety and comfort for passengers and commuters, so they do not hesitate to choose public transportation. Let’s take public transport, don't be afraid to use public transport, public transport is safe and comfortable, and be a ‘hero’ to those around us to together fight sexual harassment in public transportation.”
Meanwhile, the President Director of PT Kereta Api Indonesia (Persero), Didiek Hartantyo, said, “To mitigate acts of sexual harassment on trains, KAI Group has taken various steps, such as providing women-only carriages on the commuter line. We also routinely conduct socializations against sexual violence at stations and during journeys. Our officers continue to increase supervision and security to minimize any opportunity for perpetrators to carry out their intentions. If customers feel harassed, we ask them not to hesitate to immediately report it to our officers, and we are ready to assist if they wish to pursue legal action,” he emphasized.
In line with the preventive measures taken by operators, the President Director of PT Kereta Commuter Indonesia (KCI), Suryawan Putra Hia, added, “KCI currently has a CCTV Analytic system as a prevention system against acts of harassment. Through this system, photos of captured perpetrators will be entered into the database. Therefore, if a perpetrator attempts to ride the commuter line again and is detected by the CCTV Analytic system, it will trigger an alert for officers to take preventive action and prohibit the individual from entering or boarding the commuter line.”
“According to IPSOS data, 91% of people have witnessed sexual harassment in public spaces and did not know what to do, while 71% said the situation would improve if someone helped. Today, I had the opportunity to speak with commuters and public transport officers, and to delve deeper into the ‘bystander effect’ phenomenon to understand why some commuters who witness harassment might be reluctant to intervene when it occurs. By hearing directly from them, I gained a broader perspective on the importance of public understanding regarding the 5D Intervention Method so that witnesses can intervene effectively to combat sexual harassment in public spaces,” said Cinta Laura, L’Oréal Paris Brand Ambassador and Stand Up Advocate, in Jakarta, Thursday (16/3).