Gojek Launches Action to Prevent Crime against Women

On-demand service company Gojek launched two actions to anticipate attempts to sexual violence against women. Based on data from UN Women, there are 57% of women who feel anxious about security during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Gojek will add safety zones in Bogor, Bandung and Surabaya starting mid-March 2021. “We are creating a waiting area with adequate lighting close to public facilities,” said Josefhine during a virtual press conference on Thursday (4/3).

The company built a safe zone at Sudirman Station, Lebak Bulus MRT Station, and Bekasi Station. The goal is to provide a space that is friendly to women. The zone utilizes hundreds of Gojek shelters or pick-up points.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, apart from being a woman-friendly space, the safe zone was also operated as a place to check body temperature for potential passengers and partners, disinfect helmets and car door handles, and provide hand sanitizer.

The Safe Zone Is Expanded to Protect Women

Gojek developed a safe zone referring to a study entitled “After Dark: Encouraging Safe Transit for Women Traveling at Night” from UN Women and Pulse Lab Jakarta. “The study states that women experience vulnerability when traveling at night,” he said.

Moreover, based on Gojek’s internal data, 55% of GoCar and GoRide users at night are women. In addition to the safe zone, Gojek holds call center and emergency unit training provided by UN Women.

“Because they (call centers and emergency units) must be trained when receiving reports. This is for prevention,” he said. The materials provided were in the form of understanding about gender issues, knowledge about issues of sexual violence, and building victim empathy and perspective.

In addition to the two new actions, Gojek has previously provided its platform capabilities with technology that provides protection against attempts at sexual violence. Gojek, for example, has a face verification feature, anonymous phone numbers, shared trips, and an emergency button.

This technology makes use of artificial intelligence (AI). Head of the UN Women Program Dwi Yuliati Faiz said the initiative was needed so that women felt safe when doing activities during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is based on research from UN Women in 2020, there are 57% of women who feel stressed and anxious during the pandemic. The percentage of women’s anxiety during the pandemic was higher than that of men, which reached 48%. Not to mention, women are vulnerable to acts of violence.

There is one in three women aged 15-64 who experience violence in their life, either by a partner or not. In 2019, the number of cases of violence against women reported to Komnas Perempuan was only 431,471. “However, there are many more victims of violence who do not report,” he said.

Gojek Reported Loss of IDR 2 Trillion in Singapore in 2019

Gojek’s business entity in Singapore, Velox Digital Singapore Pte. Ltd. Reportedly, he lost US$ 141 million or around IDR 2 trillion in 2019. The Indonesian Decacorn also plans to increase investment outside Indonesia this year. Tech In Asia reports, Velox represents the Gojek ride-hailing business in Singapore.

Meanwhile, Gojek Singapore Pte. Ltd. focuses on the data business and software development (software). Velox does not specify revenue before deducting other expenses. However, “the amount of service fees obtained is lower than the incentives paid to (partner) drivers,” he was quoted as saying by Tech In Asia, last Monday (1/3).

The biggest burden is the discount given to service providers or partners. Then, the advertising costs or incentives are given to passengers, amounting to US$ 17.9 million. Based on data from ABI Research, Gojek’s ride-hailing market share in Singapore is only 4.2% in 2019.

Meanwhile, its competitor, Grab, is 90%. The Singapore Decacorn is also said to have reached the break-even point (BEP) for the ride-sharing business line. Gojek has been present in Singapore since January 2019. The Indonesian Decacorn plans to intensify investments outside Indonesia this year.