On Saturday (July 11th), a NOBAR NOP #3 (Hangout Together Never Okay Project) was held, a series of online discussions themed around sexual harassment in various sectors of the workforce. This third episode discusses sexual harassment in the workplace. The speakers present at this NOBAR are Maya Juwita, executive director of IBCWE ( Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment), Mincot from HRD Bacot, and Hana Talitha from Never Okay Project. Also present was Protasius from Never Okay Project as a facilitator.

Also read: Survey Report on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace During Work from Home

The first presentation began with Hana Talitha, who showed that research conducted by Never Okay Project and IBCWE indicates that 38% of survivors reported that HRD did not follow up on sexual harassment reports and 94% of other survivors chose not to report cases of sexual harassment to HRD. Where we know that HRD should act as the “first responder.” 

Maya emphasizes that an HR person must be trustworthy. She continued that sexual harassment still often occurs in the workplace due to a lack of awareness about this issue among the industry. To this day, the organization known as “ibu cewe” is still actively voicing the importance of gender equality in the workplace to avoid cases of sexual harassment and has been collaborating with Never Okay Project since 2018.

Mincot responded to messages received on HRD Bacot's social media platform that the main cause of sexual harassment in the workplace is power relations. Complaints, which are predominantly by women, report that they are often harassed by their superiors, not only by their superiors in their division but also by those from other divisions. This social media account about the workplace takes an example of a case where someone calls “say.” This call may seem strange, but for some people, it can be interpreted as harassment, especially if followed by a handgrip. 

For 10 years working as HR, Maya admitted to having used the greeting “hi say.” She claimed to say it only to close friends, but many people often use it just to follow trends, which turned out to result in discomfort for others. Eventually, she realized that an HR person must be able to restrain themselves from following trends in order to maintain the dignity of a company’s “first responder.”

To prevent or stop sexual violence, Hana conveyed the 5D strategy from Hollaback,which are direct, distract, delegate, delay, and document. The full article can be found at https://jakarta.ihollaback.org/bystander-intervention/?lang=i

Hangout Together Never Okay Project highlights cases of harassment in the workplace because for some workers, the workplace is a home, where someone can spend their days at work and with their colleagues, not just a place to earn money. Therefore, a workplace must understand that “One is too many,” meaning every case of sexual harassment, no matter how small, is a significant problem that must be addressed immediately.