Critically acclaimed Indonesia drama ,”Photocopier”, exposes the exhausting process to find justice for sexual assault victims.
Acclaimed Indonesia Drama, Photocopier, was screened at the Busan International Film Festival 2021 and received 12 honors at the Indonesia Film Festival 2021. The Film, directed by Wregas Bhanuteja, addresses the deep-seated inequality and lack of justice for sexual assault victims in Indonesia.
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
Movie Synopsis
Suryani, a first-year student and part of the Mata Hari theatrical theatre community, loses her scholarship after a drunken photo of her circulates on social media. Suryani has no recollection of what happened to her and attempts to investigate the occurrence with the assistance of a friend called Amin, who works as a photocopier. Suryani confessed that she had been sexually harassed after further inquiry. This is the point at which Suryani’s fight begins. Suryani’s investigation into what happened to her was difficult since she couldn’t trust the people closest to her, neither her family nor her friends. This is since his intoxicated snapshot gives the impression that Suryani is unconscious.
Suryani later discovered that she had been a victim of sexual harassment after viewing one of the stage exhibits that resembled a shot of her own back. Suryani was persuaded even more after scanning her own back using Amin’s copying machine. Although Suryani has verified that she is a victim of sexual harassment, no one is on her side, including her father, who believes it was her fault because she was inebriated. On the other hand, the university did not support Suryani since the university’s good reputation and image were at stake. Not only that, but sexual harassment perpetrators have more authority than Suryani.
Stirring Portrait of Assault Survivor
Suryani’s struggle illustrates how survivors of sexual violence in Indonesia have to fight alone without getting any help from the institutions supposed to help and accompany them. Often, cases of sexual violence are handled after the case goes viral on social media. Then, seeing the university’s attitude towards Suryani also illustrate how educational institutions handle cases of sexual violence that occur within educational institutions. Most schools or universities choose not to interfere with maintaining their institution’s good name. Several educational institutions force survivors to make peace with the perpetrators but do not punish the perpetrators. If the perpetrators get punished, the punishment given is very light. Even though the survivors bring their cases to court, sometimes the perpetrators have more power to easily take down the charges. Photocopier also tries to explain that cases of sexual violence are not only in the form of rape but can occur in various forms.
#MeToo and Our Role In Standing in solidarity with one another
Sexual abuse has psychological, emotional, and physical consequences for survivors. It’s not easy to cope with, but we can assist them by providing them with the assistance and support they require.
We can encourage them to seek help, like going to the hospital for physical and psychological check-ups, and go to the authorities like police and organizations that help victims of sexual harassment. But we cannot force them to speak up, so we need to be patient as they try to build up their courage to speak up. While we wait for them to build up their courage to speak up, try giving them support and believe that it’s not their fault that it’s happening, as the event will make them afraid that they’ll get blamed for the assault.
Photocopier is streaming now on Netflix.
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