Women Still Face Violence When Repaying Online Loans

A Kompas Research and Development (Litbang Kompas) poll reveals that 15% of respondents admitted that they or their female relatives had experienced violence related to online loans (pinjol). This violence included intimidation, verbal abuse, and physical assault.

Specifically, 2.1% of female respondents reported experiencing violence themselves, while 12.9% reported that a female relative had experienced it.

"In cases of online loan collection, women are particularly vulnerable to violence. This issue is inextricably linked to gender-based violence," wrote a Kompas Litbang researcher in their report on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.

The survey also found that the majority of respondents (81.5%) believe the government has not done enough to protect borrowers from violence by loan collectors.

This is despite the government's regulations on loan collection, such as Financial Services Authority Regulation (POJK) Number 22 of 2023 concerning Consumer and Public Protection in the Financial Services Sector.

This regulation stipulates that loan collection can only be conducted at the consumer's address; any other location constitutes a violation. Collection is also only permitted on weekdays.

"Therefore, with clear legal grounds, it should not be difficult for the government to take action against loan providers who still resort to violence," wrote the Kompas Litbang researcher.

The survey involved 510 respondents from 54 cities across 38 provinces, selected randomly according to the population proportion in each region.

Data collection was conducted from April 21-24, 2025, through telephone interviews. The survey's margin of error is approximately 4.25%, with a 95% confidence level, under conditions of simple random sampling.