Gender Inequality in Indonesia
In Indonesia, women comprise almost half (49,42%) of the country’s population, according to the BPS Statistics Indonesia in 2020.
While it is true Indonesia has high rates of violence against women, however, it is difficult to know the realities of women’s experiences because in the past the data has been somewhat unreliable. This is due to factors such as the lack of reporting mechanisms for victims of assault and the taboo nature of addressing sexual violence.
The Indonesian Ministry of Women and Child Protection and the United Nations Population Fund, however, performed the first accurate nationwide survey on gendered violence in Indonesia in 2017.
Surprisingly, it revealed that Indonesia's rates of violence against women are on pace with the global rate, with 1 in 3 women experiencing sexual assault in their lifetime.
Indonesia has come a long way since becoming a democracy in 1998. Before that, Suharto, ruled the country for almost 32 years and increased the inequality gap between men and women
“The leadership – including the women currently in political positions of power – are not pushing women’s rights and gender equality issues as much as they could be.”
