Indonesia Will Now Ban People Who Sexual Harassers Others On Trains For Life
The new penalty comes after 30 reported incidents of sexual harassment between January and August of 2024, and many more reported on social media.
Indonesia will now punish people who sexual harass others on trains by banning them from riding on the trains for life.
A train operator in Jakarta and other major cities announced on Sep. 8 that it would ban perpetrators from using its trains forever.
The new penalty comes after 30 reported incidents of sexual harassment between January and August of 2024, and many more reported on social media.
In one incident in July, a man had filmed seven different videos of his victim.
Indonesia has one of the most dangerous public transport systems for women in the world, according to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In one national survey from 2019, more than 45% of people said they experienced sexual harassment on public transport in the country.
Indonesia's train and bus operators have tried to make its public transport safer for women passengers, particularly in Jakarta, by introducing women-only buses, women-only carriages on trains and even women-only trains.
However, the women-only trains were scrapped after only six months because the regular, mixed-gender trains became overcrowded.
In response to the recent incidents, the train operator said it is now also considering increasing the number of women-only carriages on trains.
It also said it would also install more surveillance cameras, so that sexual harassers would be recorded in the system and blacklisted.
Women’s rights groups in Indonesia have welcomed the new lifetime ban, but have said they are skeptical if it can be enforced effectively.
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