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Understanding Privilege
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Gabriella Regina K.
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The origin of the term privilege can be traced back to the 1930s, when white people in Europe and America felt superior to black people 1. At that time, privilege was not only about who had money but illustrated a person's state of life. Poor white people felt they were superior to poor black people because at least they could participate in elections and go to school and parks.
We can understand that privilege is a set of benefits that is received and granted to people who belong to certain social groups. These "special people" can use their position to benefit others like them (re: special). For example, in countries with the worst conditions for women, such as Afghanistan, Syria, and India, women often lack institutional power.
Women still face inadequate opportunities for social participation, especially in advocating for political rights and power in government and various institutions 2. This historical trend continues today, although more women are being politically elected to leadership positions, their voices are still unheard 3. Meanwhile, in societies that glorify white supremacy, people of color are often slaves and experience poor treatment.
Over time, with the rise of awareness due to the waves of feminism, issues of gender, privilege, and inequality have become common discourse in society for years.
Image source: Vox
The women's liberation movement in the 1960s and 1970s focused on several "privileges" enjoyed by men. This massive wave also highlighted how the exercise of power by men affects women's lives.
If we look closely at the social status of women and men, it is evident that men hold privileges over women in many aspects of life. For instance, women are more likely to become victims of domestic violence, workplace harassment, and suffer wage discrimination as major obstacles to their quality of life compared to men.
In Indonesian culture, many privileges and powers held by men over women are forms of power/legitimacy that are acquired at no cost. Equally disheartening, society often uses a male perspective as the primary focus, ultimately causing women to be reluctant to step forward and present themselves. It must be acknowledged that privilege indeed has a significant role in individuals' success.
By the early 21st century, the goals of the second wave of feminism have largely been achieved. Currently, over 70% of women in America have jobs and are free to be in public places or participate in various community activities 4. The number of women graduating from college is also higher than that of men. In Indonesia, the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education reported in 2018 that the number of active female students was 3,077,254, about 440,000 more than the number of male students, which was 2,636,495 5. However, discrimination and violence as forms of privilege still occur.
It was reported that 75% of women in Indonesia have experienced physical and sexual violence. The government's first national survey on violence against women showed that 33% of women aged 15 to 64 claimed to have experienced harassment 6. Indonesia ranks 88th out of 144 countries in the World Economic Forum's Gender Gap Index 2016 after scoring poorly in economic participation, political empowerment, and education. Although the economy has improved over the past decade, critics say that gaps remain, and women often become its victims 7.
Recognizing privilege is very similar to sex education in Indonesia: we are never formally taught about it but continually bear the responsibility to "educate ourselves." So, what can we do?
If we want to "liberate ourselves," we must not place the entire responsibility for changing the culture that perpetuates discrimination solely on marginalized groups. Activists and organizations focusing on these issues must be able to channel their passions, ideas, and strategies into tangible actions for change.
Each of us has the responsibility to inform those around us about how privilege works in the real world. Don't be afraid to start posting on social media, writing blogs, discussing, or even creating spaces for dialogue and critiquing examples of wrongdoing based on privilege. Is it still beneficial to one party and detrimental to another?
Privilege will never disappear until the systems in our society strive to eliminate discrimination. In everyday life, strive to question privilege so that one day we all enjoy equal benefits. Lastly, for those who routinely benefit from privilege, the challenge is to not quickly deny its existence; instead, use your everyday privilege to help others.
Written by Gabriella Regina K.
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Banyak Sojin di Sekitar Kita: Tentang Sistem yang Belum Siap Melindungi Korban Kekerasan Seksual di Tempat Kerja
Cho Nam Joo menjadikan esainya dalam bentuk buku berjudul Her Name Is… Berisi banyak cerita dari berbagai perempuan. Cerita-cerita mereka banyak mengangkat isu ketidaksetaraan gender yang cukup kental dalam kultur Korea Selatan.
Salah satu cerita yang cukup membuat “gelisah” adalah kisah milik Sojin. Seorang pegawai perempuan yang masih muda dan mengalami pelecehan seksual oleh atasannya (Kepala Divisi).
Sojin yang Melawan
Sojin yang resah tidak tinggal diam. Ia memutuskan untuk melaporkan kasusnya. Mulai dengan melapor pada manajer tim. Namun solusi yang ditawarkan adalah dengan memindahkan Sojin.
Buku Cho Nam Joo - Her Name Is…
Menurut Sojin tidak seharusnya korban yang “melarikan diri” harusnya pelaku yang dipindahkan atau bahkan dikeluarkan. Sojin lalu mengirim keluhan dan laporan resmi ke divisi SDM.
Sayangnya, alih-alih dibantu, Sojin justru disudutkan dan disalahkan dalam proses tersebut. Bahkan ia dipersulit oleh pelaku yang adalah atasannya, dan dikucilkan di kantor.
Sojin meneruskan perjuangannya sampai ke Kementerian Tenaga Kerja, bahkan sudah mendapat surat tembusan agar perusahaan menghukum pelaku. Tapi tidak dilakukan oleh perusahaan.
Mengapa Korban Enggan Melapor
Hasil riset Never Okay Project di tahun 2022 memiliki beberapa temuan kunci. Salah satunya menyebutkan bahwa hanya 10,94% korban yang berani melapor ke Manajemen atau divisi SDM kantor.
Sementara sebanyak 42,55% memilih untuk diam saja dan tidak melapor kejadian kekerasan dan pelecehan seksual yang mereka alami di lingkungan kerja.
Salah satu alasan mengapa mereka enggan melapor adalah karena para korban (45,61%) merasa bahwa pihak Manajemen tidak akan melakukan apapun.
Angka-angka ini adalah alarm keras. Ketika mayoritas korban merasa lebih aman untuk diam daripada melapor, itu tandanya ada yang salah dengan sistem pendukung di tempat kerja tersebut.
Bukan tanpa alasan korban enggan bersuara. Sering kali, saat laporan dibuat, mekanisme internal perusahaan justru berfokus pada "menjaga reputasi" daripada "mencari keadilan".
Korban kerap menghadapi investigasi yang intimidatif, pertanyaan yang menyalahkan korban (victim blaming), hingga ancaman kehilangan pekerjaan. Akibatnya, pelaku sering kali tetap melenggang tanpa hukuman yang setimpal.
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Jadi Saksi yang Berani Beraksi Seperti Jung Da-Jung di Drakor 18 Again
Pernahkah kamu berada di situasi di mana kamu melihat langsung ketika rekan kerja diperlakukan tidak pantas? Situasi yang sering membuat kamu bingung, tidak tahu harus berbuat apa? Kamu tidak sendirian.
Berdasarkan Survei Kekerasan dan Pelecehan di Dunia Kerja Indonesia 2022 yang dirilis oleh Never Okay Project, faktanya sebanyak 72,77% orang pernah menjadi saksi kekerasan dan pelecehan di lingkungan kerja.
Mengapa Saksi Sering Memilih Diam?
Meskipun angka saksi ini sangat tinggi, kenyataannya ada banyak juga saksi yang memilih diam. Mengapa demikian?
Menjadi saksi atau bystander memiliki beban mental tersendiri. Beberapa alasan utama mengapa saksi enggan melapor atau bertindak antara lain:
Takut kariernya akan terhambat atau dikucilkan oleh lingkungan kantor.
Merasa manajemen tidak akan mengambil tindakan tegas meski sudah melapor.
Takut dianggap terlalu ikut campur.
Keberanian Itu Bukan Fiksi
Tim Never Okay Project menemukan salah satu scene menarik dalam drakor 18 Again (2020). Scene ketika Jung Da-Jung (Kim Ha-Neul) melihat senior kantornya diam-diam merekam rok rekannya sesama karyawan magang. Kejadian yang berlangsung di dalam lift itu mengejutkan Da-Jung.
Tanpa berpikir panjang, ia langsung memelintir tangan pelaku dan memaksanya keluar dari lift. Da-Jung juga mengkonfrontasi pelaku untuk membuka ponselnya untuk diperiksa. Setelah bukti-bukti dipastikan, pelaku tersebut kemudian digiring keluar oleh polisi untuk diamankan.
Apakah aksi berani seperti ini fiksi dan hanya bisa dilakukan di dalam adegan-adegan film? Tentu, tidak.
Menjadi Saksi yang Berani Beraksi
Kamu juga bisa menjadi saksi yang berani beraksi. Tapi, sebelum itu, ada hal yang lebih penting untuk diutamakan, yakni keamanan dan keselamatan diri.
Merespons kekerasan dan pelecehan seksual di depan mata tidak selalu harus menggunakan cara yang Da-Jung lakukan. Berikut adalah beberapa hal yang dapat kamu lakukan.
Jika kamu rasa situasinya aman, kamu bisa mengkonfrontasi dan mengedukasi pelaku.
Jika kamu rasa situasinya tidak aman, ini yang bisa kamu lakukan:
Saat kejadian:
Alihkan perhatian atau topik pembicaraan.
Minta rekan kerja senior untuk menegur pelaku.
Dokumentasikan kejadian tersebut.
Setelah kejadian:Tenangkan dan tanyakan keadaan korban.
Tawarkan bantuan pada korban.
Jadi saksi pada pelaporan ke atasan atau HR.
Gunakan hasil dokumentasi untuk bukti pelaporan.
Pantau perkembangan laporan.
Cerita Jung Da-Jung dalam drama mungkin fiksi, namun tantangan yang dihadapi para pekerja di Indonesia adalah nyata. Menciptakan ruang kerja yang aman bukan hanya tugas manajemen, tapi juga tanggung jawab kita sebagai saksi yang berani beraksi.
It’s Not A Fiction. Jangan biarkan lingkungan kerja kita menjadi tempat yang tidak aman bagi siapapun.
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Just Pretend to Be Good: About the Well-being of Lecturers in Indonesia
Lecturers so far seem to have no problems, maybe it’s because we are in denial. We pretend to be okay. So it’s like (we need) awareness that we are not okay, awareness that something needs to change, awareness that we are the working class who are very likely to be oppressed in our work fulfillment relationships.” – Nabiyla Risfa Azzati, representative of the Lecturer Welfare Research Team (2023)
The teaching profession, which is considered promising, does not guarantee worker welfare. A survey from the Lecturer Welfare Team shows that there are still lecturers who are dissatisfied with their salaries. This research was released in commemoration of Labor Day and National Education Day 2023.
Survey by the Lecturer Welfare Research Team (UGM-UI-Unram, 2023) shows that 42.9% of lecturers earn below Rp3 million. About 35% of them feel that their monthly income does not match their workload and qualifications as lecturers. Moreover, nearly one-third of respondents reported spending monthly living costs of Rp3-5 million.
Not All Lecturers Live Prosperously
The representative of the Lecturer Welfare Research Team, Nabiyla Risfa Azzati, stated that this research shows the fact that many lecturers are not prosperous. The labor law lecturer at UGM noted that more than 40% of lecturers earning below Rp3 million is a red flag.
“This speaks about a profession that on one hand requires very high qualifications to enter, therefore its barrier is very high, while on the other hand, this profession also becomes the backbone of knowledge creation,” emphasized Nabiyla when met by the Never Okay Project (NOP) team.
Issues of Lecturer Welfare Rarely Discussed
Nabiyla revealed that the welfare of lecturers is rarely raised. This is why this research was conducted: to make this issue mainstream so that the parties concerned can be more open and acknowledge that there are problems.
“Because if we can acknowledge that there is a problem, we can start from there, we can look for solutions together. If we don’t even admit there’s a problem, it’s very difficult, right?” she said.
Nabiyla realizes that discussions about salaries are still considered taboo, especially for the teaching profession, which is considered noble and carries a certain social status. She also acknowledges that it is not difficult to find prosperous lecturers. However, that does not mean we should turn a blind eye to the 42.9% of respondents who earn less than Rp3 million.
“If my life is used as an example, lecturers are fine. But there are many other lecturers who are not okay,” she said.
Lecturers No Longer an Attractive Career Choice
The results of this research also seem to answer an assumption that being a lecturer is no longer an attractive choice. “How can we attract quality individuals to work in a profession that in its early stages cannot provide welfare. Like it’s impossible,” she said.
Nabiyla also mentioned the high resignation rate from CASN (Civil Service Candidates) lecturers. This indicates that something is wrong.
“This actually shows that there’s something wrong, we do not value people who actually want to dedicate their time to knowledge creation in Indonesia,” she explained.
Read also: Violence Against Journalists: From Sexual to KBGO
Ideal Salary Standards for Lecturers
Discussing ideal salaries for lecturers is quite complicated. This is because the benchmark for fair wages in Indonesia refers to the minimum wage, which in this context is the standard of Decent Living Needs (KHL). However, this context is considered less suitable when talking about lecturer salaries.
“Why? Because first, the barrier to becoming a lecturer is high, so this should be seen as a profession that should not be valued at bare minimum,” explained Nabiyla.
She compared it to other countries that generally do not value lecturer salaries at minimum wage. The reason is that lecturer salaries there are negotiated. In Indonesia, sector-based negotiations are nearly non-existent, so the Lecturer Welfare Research Team cannot answer how to provide an ideal standard for lecturers.
Comparing Lecturer Salaries with Neighboring Countries
The Lecturer Welfare Research Team attempted to compare lecturer salaries in Indonesia with comparable neighboring countries, namely Malaysia and Thailand. The results are quite shocking. The average lecturer salary in Malaysia is Rp 20-25 million and in Thailand is Rp 38-42 million. Nabiyla revealed that initially, the team felt those figures were not suitable for this job because they were too high. However, the main problem is that Indonesia does not have a standard for lecturer salaries.
“The comparison with Malaysia and Thailand should not be a very far comparison, but seeing that we currently do not have a standard, if we were to present at the Ministry of Education and Culture, we’d face ridicule. It’s strange how we don’t have standards; we are even afraid to mention a figure that isn’t too high at all, it’s actually quite normal,” said Nabiyla.
Lecturers are Workers Too: Fighting Not to be Oppressed
The survey results from the Lecturer Welfare Research Team also show that the lecturer profession is a labor profession. Therefore, it is necessary to fight to not be oppressed.
“Call us professional workers, call us white-collar workers, call us knowledge producers, whatever the name, at the end of the day, we are workers, we are laborers,” said Nabiyla.
Source:
Lecturer Welfare Research Team. (2023, May 4). How much do lecturers earn? Here are the results of the first national survey mapping the welfare of academics in Indonesia. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/berapa-gaji-dosen-berikut-hasil-survei-nasional-pertama-yang-memetakan-kesejahteraan-akademisi-di-indonesia-203854 accessed on May 21, 2023.
Interview with the representative of the Lecturer Welfare Research Team, Nabiyla Risfa Azzati. May 17, 2023.
Writer: Yanti Nainggolan
Editor: Imelda
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