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sexual assault

Here's What You Need to Do If Police Ignore Your Sexual Assault Claim

Happy International Women's Day!

On the eve of International Women's Day, the Jakarta police decided to celebrate early by ignoring a woman's sexual assault report.

Last Monday on the Transjakarta 291 bus, a male student from Christian University of Indonesia reportedly felt up a female passengers leg. The victim reported the assault to a member of Transjakarta staff, Fitri, and the staffer confronted the suspect. "At the bus station I asked him, 'Did you touch her thigh?' and he confessed," Fitri said. The suspect admitted he did the same to other women in the past. Fitri accompanied the victim to file a police report, but even with a confession, the suspect was allowed to go free.

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Jatinegara Police Chief Bambang Edi brushed off the sexual assault accusation and said, "It's nothing. It's not categorized [as sexual assault]. The guy accidentally touched her as they sat next to each other."

"Sexual assaults only happen if he grabs her breasts or vagina or even flashes his penis, that's not what happened. He only touched her thigh while she was wearing long pants. If she's wearing a skirt and he lifts it up and grabs her—then in that case it's sexual assault."

The police have a shoddy record when it comes to protecting the women they are sworn to serve. They advise victims of domestic violence and abuse to make peace and tolerate their abusive husbands. In a headline grabbing rape allegation against Sitok Srengenge, it took one year for the police name him as suspect.

The police even require virginity tests to prospective female officers. The head of law enforcement, General Moechigiyarto, claimed that the test was a "moral matter because we don't want bad seeds [in our institution]. If a woman is no longer a virgin and a prostitute, how do you suppose we accept them as police officers? It's more about morals, that's just how it is."

I got in touch with Ikhwan Sapta Nugraha, a public defense lawyer in Yogyakarta to find out how a woman's sexual assault allegation can be so easily ignored and what I should do if I get sexually assaulted.

Do you think the police has dealt with the report well? 
No they have not. It's not within the police department's jurisdiction to determine if a report proves to violate criminal laws. It's the judge's' job to give a verdict on whether or not the incident was a sexual assault. When the victim made the report, the police are supposed to elaborate on which laws match the report—that's it.

Why do you think the police did what they did? 
In my personal opinion, there are two likely reasons. The first is a matter of perspective, they don't take sexual assault reports seriously. They thought of it as a 'mere accident' and 'nothing bad.' The second possible reason is that they're lazy.

If I ever experience sexual assaults, what are the first things I should do?
From legal perspective, there are two steps that I would suggest. The first would be documentation. It doesn't have to be photographs, it could be a reaction. If somebody does things that make you uncomfortable, you should react—for example, scream—so that people around you can notice and can be witnesses. The second step would be filing an official report at the nearest police station. I highly recommend you come to the police with someone else. If you don't have an attorney, you can ask one of the witnesses or your friends or family member.

Assistance can prevent the police from asking you discriminating questions such as, 'Did you gain any pleasure from the incident?' or blaming you for how you dress. If the police dismisses your report without grounds, you should file a report on their negligence to the PROPAM (Internal  Affairs).

And if the police dismiss my report, can I file the same report to a different police station?
No you cannot, because it's not the other stations' jurisdiction. However, you can bring your report to the next level, Polda (provincial police commands).