Dessy Sagita & Markus Junianto Sihaloho – Sexual violence in the workplace aimed at women is just the tip of the iceberg because so few victims report incidents, a spokeswoman for the Women's Forum for Justice told a rally in front of the State Palace on Thursday.

Iswarini told attendees at the rally, which marked International Women's Day, that some women had been forced to have sex with their superiors to receive a promotion and others have been made to prove they were menstruating to be excused from work.

"Some have been forced to show their underwear when they asked for menstrual leave, but only a few reported it," she said. "I'm sure there are many more abuses because it's supported by an unfair system."

Iswarini lamented the false perception that a woman's body could incite sexual abuse that is held by such figures as House of Representatives Speaker Marzuki Alie, who has criticized women for wearing miniskirts. "Women's bodies are not to blame when incidents of sexual abuse happen," she said.

She said she hoped that staging a rally could help lead the public to the right perception on how to react to sexual violence against women. She said she would continue to campaign to encourage women to break their silence and to report sexual abuse so as to eradicate patriarchal perception on women.

Hundreds of women also demonstrated to commemorate the globally celebrated day in Bandung, where protestors demanded equal treatment and abolishment of discriminations at workplace.

"On this International Women's Day, female labors are demanding a change of condition so that people can get social security and welfare, equal treatment and no discrimination," said Dewi, the event's coordinator.

She told the audience it was time for women to lead the changes in every aspect of life and to fight for their rights. "Sexual abuse will not stop unless victims have the courage to report what happened to them," said Nina Tursinah of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo).

Many women keep quiet about sexual abuse experiences because they are afraid to lose their jobs or out of embarrassment, she said.

Nina said employers should brief both management and employees on what sexual harassment is and what they should do if it happened to them and issue a warning and punishment on the perpetrators.

A survey of 22 countries by Reuters and Ipsos Global Advisory in 2010 showed that one in 10 workers experienced sexual harassment from their superiors. Indonesia does not have data on sexual harassment at workplace, but it is widely believed that the figure is high.

[Additional reporting from Antara.]