Miss Universe Indonesia: Contestants complain of sexual harassment

Several Miss Universe Indonesia candidates have accused organisers of sexual abuse in police complaints.

The contestants were asked to take off their tops for “body checks” and photographs two days before the finals on 3 August, one of their lawyers said.

Beauty pageants are allowed in Indonesia, but organisers are careful not to offend its conservative society.

In 2013, the Miss World pageant cancelled its bikini round when it was staged in the mainly Muslim nation.

Police in the capital Jakarta said the complaints would be used as basis for “further investigation”.

Sexual abuse is punishable by up to 15 years in prison under Indonesian law.

Mellisa Anggraeni, who represents three candidates, confirmed the complaint to BBC News Indonesia. She said many other complainants would come forward.

Reuters news agency reported that six candidates filed complaints with police.

Organisers had told the candidates that the body checks were meant “to examine any scars, cellulite or tattoos on their bodies”, Ms Anggraeni told AFP.

The Miss Universe Indonesia Organisation will investigate the allegations, said its owner, Indonesian celebrity Poppy Capella said in a statement.

The global Miss Universe Organisation also said it was looking into the matter and that it takes allegations of sexual impropriety “very seriously”.

Some of the complainants spoke in a press conference late Monday but local television blurred their faces in the broadcasts to protect their identities.

“As a woman, I feel that my rights as a woman have been violated, and it has affected me mentally. I have had trouble sleeping because of overthinking,” one of the women said.

While the body checks were done in a closed room, there were some men present, the woman said.

The door was also not completely shut, giving people outside a view of what is happening, she said.

Maria Harfanti, a former Miss Indonesia who finished third in Miss World 2015, said body checks are normal in the country, but contestants are not usually asked to strip naked.

Ms Harfanti said organisers often ask for the contestants’ BMI or body mass index to check their body proportions.

Miss Universe, which is now on its 73rd edition, is popular in South-east Asia, especially in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand, where winners go on to become celebrities and social media influencers.

Its current owner is Anne Jakrajutatip, a Thai transgender woman and media mogul, who has sought to revamp the brand to make it more inclusive by allowing married women, transgender women and single mothers to compete.