An Indonesian woman with the pseudonym Dina has recently come out to share her story of being sexually harassed by her boss. In an interview with Indonesian portal, Tirto, she revealed what she had endured while working at the Workers Social Security Agency (BPJS Keteganakerjaan) Supervisory Board, a local government agency.
Source: NST
Dina, who worked as a secretary at the agency since May 2016, faced numerous advances from her boss, who is a board member. In July 2016, he asked if he could kiss her, and things escalated when he allegedly began to force her into having sex with him on more than one occasion. According to Coconuts Jakarta, a translated excerpt of her interview reads,
“There was psychological abuse whenever I refused him and escaped his sexual advances, like him making the atmosphere at work uncomfortable, screaming at me over bad things I supposedly did.”
Having had enough of the abuse, Dina filed a sexual harassment complaint to the board’s chairman on 28th November 2018, but just two days later, she received a notice that her last day of work would be on 5th December.
Source: Hindustan Times
After she was terminated, Dina sought legal help from various women’s rights organisations and the matter has since been reported to Indonesian President Joko Widodo, as he directly appoints all board members under the Workers Social Security Agency. Meanwhile, agency representatives have declined to comment.
Let’s hope the authorities thoroughly investigate this issue to ensure nothing like this happens again.
Also read: BFM “Unable to Confirm” Allegations Of Sexual Harassment and Assault
