Women safety when in public

When I read these posts, I am thinking ... 'Too positive'.
After 20.00h ... be careful. Especially if you are alone on the street as a woman, but also if you are alone in a go car at night. There are no-go areas in Indonesia that are controlled by preman (mafia) ask drivers about their experiences
I probably won't be getting out much at night, I'm not really a partyer anymore, haha. But that is good advice! I will definitely be on my guard when I'm alone. Living in New Orleans for a decade has made me wary of empty streets.
 
Tanah Abang used to be home to big name premans, but they don’t do petty crime anymore. I dare say being a white female foreigner you’re actually extra safe, because you will draw attention from all Indonesians within 200 ft. Small time street goons in Indonesia rely on not being noticed, which is impossible in your situation.

There are roaming gangs of muggers and pickpockets operating on buses and minibuses in some areas of Jakarta, but at worst they’ll take your valuables. They don’t hurt you unless you fight back. Just don’t carry stuff that you can’t afford to lose.

Remember the Indonesian word for help, which is ‘tolong’. In the extremely unlikely event that you need help, shout it out at the top of your lungs.
Good to know about the minibuses. I will have to travel very light then.

Sounds like even though I'm not a fan of attention it'll come in handy.

Thank you for your reply and the advice!
 
When crossing the road one should also be proficient in the use of "The Magic Hand" hey Bad azz !
Absolutely!!!
Where would anyone be without it... for those who are new to Indonesia The Magic Hand is this amazing thing that gets you across the road safely (ahem, just remember to use all other cautions too) Basically you waft your hand up in the air & hold it about head height, palm out towards the cars/bikes you want to halt, (much like an old time traffic policeman) if used with caution it actually works ...for the most part :D
 
Is that the hand where I stick my hand out and walk-jog like a car may fly at me any moment? I will have to practice, haha.
Only ever walk, you do not want to scare drivers by using any new fangled tactics such as jogging :D
 
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Good to know about the minibuses. I will have to travel very light then.

Sounds like even though I'm not a fan of attention it'll come in handy.

Thank you for your reply and the advice!
I can't imagine you having need of the minibuses if you are in walking distance to the school/daycare.
If it is pouring with rain GoCar/Grab are likely to be a long while coming to you as they get very busy, better to just wait the rain out, either at home or a café /warung along the way, most others do. haha example:
boss to employee- you are late
response- ya sorry, hujan (rain).

Carry a copy of your ID around with you, keep your originals very safely locked up somewhere - we use a heavy duty fire/flood-proof safe.
 
We will have to check out his band! I'm an indie rock person, personally, haha, but I do appreciate some good metal.
 
I can't imagine you having need of the minibuses if you are in walking distance to the school/daycare.
If it is pouring with rain GoCar/Grab are likely to be a long while coming to you as they get very busy, better to just wait the rain out, either at home or a café /warung along the way, most others do. haha example:
boss to employee- you are late
response- ya sorry, hujan (rain).

Carry a copy of your ID around with you, keep your originals very safely locked up somewhere - we use a heavy duty fire/flood-proof safe.
This is all such great advice. If I bring my US driver's license would that suffice or like a photo copy or just the card part of my passport card combo? My usual tactic with valuable cards is to cram everything into the sole of my shoe and only keep petty cash in my wallet.
 
This is all such great advice. If I bring my US driver's license would that suffice or like a photo copy or just the card part of my passport card combo? My usual tactic with valuable cards is to cram everything into the sole of my shoe and only keep petty cash in my wallet.
I would suggest keeping a printed copy of passport & visa on you or a clear photo of them in your phone.
Re having ID on your person, I am not sure it is a legal requirement, I think it is. A US DL isn't sufficient as ID here; it is not written in Indonesian.
I said about keeping the originals safe as it is often a ball-ache to process replacement documents if any get stolen or lost (no matter what country one is residing in).
 
I would suggest keeping a printed copy of passport & visa on you or a clear photo of them in your phone.
Re having ID on your person, I am not sure it is a legal requirement, I think it is. A US DL isn't sufficient as ID here; it is not written in Indonesian.
I said about keeping the originals safe as it is often a ball-ache to process replacement documents if any get stolen or lost (no matter what country one is residing in).
Great advice, thank you so much. I am very glad to have stumbled across this community.
 
When I read these posts, I am thinking ... 'Too positive'.
After 20.00h ... be careful. Especially if you are alone on the street as a woman, but also if you are alone in a go car at night.
Caution is always good, and I would NEVER suggest to anyone, male or female, Indonesian or foreign, that they fail to be be mindful of their surroundings. Everyone, regardless of nationality or gender, should try to avoid behaviors that unnecessarily increase their personal risk.

Having said that ... my personal observations about foreigner safety in Indonesia are that it's young foreign guys who cruise bars looking for a local girlfriend (or one night stand, or prostitute, take your pick, personally I don't judge too much) that are the biggest targets. I personally know and can vouch for the stories of several foreign guys who were roofied/taken advantage of because they were "on the prowl." One guy I knew personally nearly died, he was given such a large dose of rohypnol/ketamine.

As a woman who conducted a lot of activities on my own in Indonesia for 17 years, I never felt particularly vulnerable because of my gender. I'd rather walk alone at night on a street in Jakarta than I would in any American big city, for sure.

That doesn't mean the statistics prove my attitude is objectively defensible. I'm just reporting on how it was for me: as a foreign woman in Jakarta, I often felt harassed in the sense that I was viewed as very approachable, and too many people wanted to befriend me for conversational purposes. But I NEVER felt unsafe in terms of expectations of rape or violent crime (pickpocketing, sure, that's always something to be on the lookout for...hold your valuables close to you and hard to grab; that's good advice anywhere in the world.)

A walk in the dark alone in Boston or DC felt far scarier to me than a walk in Jakarta ever did.
 
Caution is always good, and I would NEVER suggest to anyone, male or female, Indonesian or foreign, that they fail to be be mindful of their surroundings. Everyone, regardless of nationality or gender, should try to avoid behaviors that unnecessarily increase their personal risk.

Having said that ... my personal observations about foreigner safety in Indonesia are that it's young foreign guys who cruise bars looking for a local girlfriend (or one night stand, or prostitute, take your pick, personally I don't judge too much) that are the biggest targets. I personally know and can vouch for the stories of several foreign guys who were roofied/taken advantage of because they were "on the prowl." One guy I knew personally nearly died, he was given such a large dose of rohypnol/ketamine.

As a woman who conducted a lot of activities on my own in Indonesia for 17 years, I never felt particularly vulnerable because of my gender. I'd rather walk alone at night on a street in Jakarta than I would in any American big city, for sure.

That doesn't mean the statistics prove my attitude is objectively defensible. I'm just reporting on how it was for me: as a foreign woman in Jakarta, I often felt harassed in the sense that I was viewed as very approachable, and too many people wanted to befriend me for conversational purposes. But I NEVER felt unsafe in terms of expectations of rape or violent crime (pickpocketing, sure, that's always something to be on the lookout for...hold your valuables close to you and hard to grab; that's good advice anywhere in the world.)

A walk in the dark alone in Boston or DC felt far scarier to me than a walk in Jakarta ever did.
Puspa, don't forget your encounter with a young male who thought one of you protrusions was fair game while jogging. Probably the most excitement of his life.
 
Puspa, don't forget your encounter with a young male who thought one of you protrusions was fair game while jogging. Probably the most excitement of his life.
As a woman, I can say such things are never forgotten.
I'm not so sure it makes us feel threatened but it certainly pisses us off to the nth degree when men think it is ok to grab at body parts without permission. I find a nice tidy right hook works well in such circumstances.
 
Absolutely!!!
Where would anyone be without it... for those who are new to Indonesia The Magic Hand is this amazing thing that gets you across the road safely (ahem, just remember to use all other cautions too) Basically you waft your hand up in the air & hold it about head height, palm out towards the cars/bikes you want to halt, (much like an old time traffic policeman) if used with caution it actually works ...for the most part :D
This is it, the coppers hand, head down in defiance, looking out the corner of your eye & ready to do the Kung Fu shuffle
 
I feel that there’s less violent crime in Indonesia than in America, but definitely a lot more property crime. The chance of a woman getting kidnapped off the street and raped is not zero, but it’s minuscule compared to the risk of getting your valuables picked or outright snatched.
 
but definitely a lot more property crime
Really? I still think its low in Indonesia. I rarely feel that i have to hide valuables in a car for example but i know many people in USA who have had cars broken into and items stolen. Same with house break ins - they do happen but i feel there are more stories in UK or USA than here.

I think the shear number of people always around helps keep this low. Its hard to break in to a car or house when someone is always watching.
 
Caution is always good, and I would NEVER suggest to anyone, male or female, Indonesian or foreign, that they fail to be be mindful of their surroundings. Everyone, regardless of nationality or gender, should try to avoid behaviors that unnecessarily increase their personal risk.

Having said that ... my personal observations about foreigner safety in Indonesia are that it's young foreign guys who cruise bars looking for a local girlfriend (or one night stand, or prostitute, take your pick, personally I don't judge too much) that are the biggest targets. I personally know and can vouch for the stories of several foreign guys who were roofied/taken advantage of because they were "on the prowl." One guy I knew personally nearly died, he was given such a large dose of rohypnol/ketamine.

As a woman who conducted a lot of activities on my own in Indonesia for 17 years, I never felt particularly vulnerable because of my gender. I'd rather walk alone at night on a street in Jakarta than I would in any American big city, for sure.

That doesn't mean the statistics prove my attitude is objectively defensible. I'm just reporting on how it was for me: as a foreign woman in Jakarta, I often felt harassed in the sense that I was viewed as very approachable, and too many people wanted to befriend me for conversational purposes. But I NEVER felt unsafe in terms of expectations of rape or violent crime (pickpocketing, sure, that's always something to be on the lookout for...hold your valuables close to you and hard to grab; that's good advice anywhere in the world.)

A walk in the dark alone in Boston or DC felt far scarier to me than a walk in Jakarta ever did.
I've been robbed, stalked, spiked, groped (so many times I couldn't possibly count it - 100s of times), threatened etc in my life - none of this in Indonesia. I'm not saying the place is a safety paradise but I really do feel a lot safer here than in many other places. This undoubtedly is down to the fact I can get myself around the city cheaply in taxis in comfort and relative safety. Like Pusp I do know quite a few fellas who have got themselves in some sticky situations but I have not to date (coming close to my 7th anniversary here).
I did get threatened a few times by taxi mafia types in Bali but it's more frustrating than an actual scary experience. This has never happened to me in Jakarta and I've traveled all over the city and surroundings for work (in taxis!).
I feel the most dangerous thing that's likely to happen to me here is falling down a hole while walking, getting my phone snatched or getting knocked over crossing the road.
I'm no fool - I know that there are dodgy taxi drivers/ criminals but in a megacity with 30m people these awful stories are rare and I refuse to live my life in unnecessary fear.
 
I travelled with a tall, slim, blonde, buxom, blue-eyed friend through a number countries including Indonesia with both of us also having previously experienced the full gamut of dodgy situations on the road at one time or another. Indonesia gave my friend the sense she was never in any danger of experiencing the incidents she had in other parts of the world.

Six months traveling with her in India was a whole different barrel of monkeys.
 

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