An Indonesian woman tried to report an attempted rape. She was turned away for being unvaccinated
- Legal experts say refusing to allow someone to file a report is a breach of human rights, but police say they were just following government directives
- Only 25 per cent of Indonesians are fully vaccinated, with criticisms about the slow roll-out and questions about the use of Chinese-made Sinovac vaccines
Home alone and still new to the neighbourhood, the 19-year-old wondered who would be visiting. When she opened the door, a strange man grabbed her, covered her mouth so she could not scream and tried to rip off her clothes.
What happened next was a bit of a blur as Sarinah fell and hit her head during the struggle, according to legal aid worker Muhammad Qodrat. She was later found unconscious by her mother. In piecing the events together, Sarinah believes she was not raped as the perpetrator heard the sound of her mother’s motorbike and fled.
Yet, she was in for a rude shock the next day when she went to the central police station to make a report, accompanied by her family and representatives from the Legal Aid Institute, which helps clients who do not have the means to hire a lawyer themselves.
“The police said ‘this is our job, we are allowed to insist that everyone is vaccinated. That is the government’s programme with the police’,” said Qodrat.