Survey of abuses against injecting drug users in Indonesia

• Published in: Harm reduction journal Vol. 6; no. 1; p. 28
• Main Authors: Davis, Sara L M, Triwahyuono, Agus, Alexander, Risa
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 24-10-2009; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Brief Report; Drug addicts; Intravenous drug abuse; Social aspects; Surveys; Indonesia
• ISSN: 1477-7517; 1477-7517
• DOI: 10.1186/1477-7517-6-28

In Indonesia, an ongoing government "war on drugs" has resulted in numerous arrests and anecdotal reports of abuse in detention, but to date there has been little documentation or analysis of this issue. JANGKAR (also known in English as the Indonesian Harm Reduction Network), a nongovernmental organization (NGO) based in Jakarta, surveyed 1106 injecting drug users in 13 cities about their experiences of police abuse. Of those interviewed, 667 or 60% reported physical abuse by police. These findings indicate the importance of continuing efforts to promote police reform and harm reduction in Indonesia.