{"id":16650,"date":"2021-11-07T12:46:20","date_gmt":"2021-11-07T05:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koalisiseni.or.id\/?p=16650"},"modified":"2022-03-30T12:38:11","modified_gmt":"2022-03-30T05:38:11","slug":"the-vulnerability-around-women-art-and-creative-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koalisiseni.or.id\/en\/the-vulnerability-around-women-art-and-creative-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vulnerability around Women Art and Creative Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jakarta \u2013 Women who work in the arts and creative sectors are vulnerable to multi-layered obstacles because of their genders and social classes. The vulnerability is even greater for those who work behind the scenes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince the work behind the scenes is often invisible, there is less protection against its risks. There are not only physical risks, but also mental risks,\u201d said Ratri Ninditya, the Coordinator of Policy Research for the Indonesian Arts Coalition (Koalisi Seni), on Sunday, November 7, 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

Koalisi Seni conducted an online survey on 202 women art workers in July 2021 regarding seven dimensions of work. Referring to that survey, Ratri pointed out that women experienced the worst conditions on the dimensions of work intensity and emotional labor. The survey also found that more than 50% of respondents had no written work contracts, more than 25% experienced work violence in the past year, more than 80% did not join a union, almost 70% did not receive training to build capacity, and 41% received a salary below the minimum wage. On the other hand, most of the respondents are self-motivated workers. When that high work motivation is not followed by adequate working conditions, it will accommodate\u2013 even perpetuate\u2013 work exploitation and early retirement.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Ratri, in general, the continuous exploitation in the art scenes \u2013regardless of gender\u2013 occurs due to the absence of policy in Indonesia regarding the art workers and their rights. <\/span>The Law on Advancement of Culture<\/span><\/a> has identified artists as \u2018Cultural Human Resources\u2019. However, it does not specifically regulate the protection of their works. Meanwhile, in the Law of Creative Economy, the artists must comply with the definition stated in the rules if they want to be protected, which may not fully fit the peculiarities of the form and the approach of their works. In the formal employment relationship, art workers also fall under general labor regulations. Furthermore, informal works in the arts are often overlooked in the Indonesian Labor Laws.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nevertheless, women face even greater obstacles than their male counterparts, such as gender-based violence and discrimination. \u201cIn a patriarchal work system, there is inadequate legal protection. Both illusion of work flexibility and exploitation in the art and creative sectors are perpetuated,\u201d said Ratri.<\/span><\/p>\n

Kartika Jahja, a musician and activist, believes that the appearing cases of violence against women in the workplace are only the tip of the iceberg. \u201cThe normalization of violence within the art scenes, law enforcement agencies that do not side with the victims, and the judgment from public that is not favorable for the victims have left the perpetrators free while the victims must bear long-term trauma all by themselves,\u201d said Kartika.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Researcher and musician Rara Sekar mentioned a <\/span>research by the Media and Creative Industry Workers Union for Democracy (SINDIKASI)<\/span><\/a> in 2020 which found that creative industry workers experienced work exploitation in the form of flexible-working illusion, or often called \u2018flexploitation\u2019.\u00a0 Workers in this industry are promised flexible space and time to work anywhere and anytime, while in fact they have to face long working hours and the blurred boundaries between work and rest time.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis situation is often followed by wage flexibility, such as an imbalanced wage compared to the workload which forces them to take several jobs at once. Many also work without social security. Such exploitative flexible working conditions will take a toll on the physical and mental health of the workers,\u201d said Rara.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Based on the survey findings, Koalisi Seni has developed several policy recommendations. Among them are the Government is required to input the protection of the art workers\u2019 rights, as well as to monitor the freedom of the arts with a focus on gender-based violence in the arts scenes. Employers should develop workplace policy to prevent and tackle violence in the workplace. Meanwhile, art workers are encouraged to join unions to strengthen their bargaining power. Full recommendations are in the table below.<\/span><\/p>\n

To examine the issue even further, Koalisi Seni held a virtual discussion \u201cThe Vulnerability of Women Workers in the Arts and Creative Sectors: How is the Protection?<\/strong>\u201d on Monday, November 8, 2021, at 15.00 WIB<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n