Female Hiker Alleges Sexual Harassment by Guide on Mount Merbabu
A female hiker has gone viral after alleging she was subjected to unpleasant treatment and sexual harassment during a climb on Mount Merbabu. The hiker claims she was deceived by the guide she had hired for the expedition.
The victim, identified by the initials F (26) from Banjarnegara, currently residing in Purwokerto, stated that she met the guide, H (29) from Grobogan, through social media. The two met when F hired H’s services for a private trip to Mount Merbabu.
“I wanted to book a private trip. He claimed to have experience with private trips on Mount Rinjani. We had communicated previously on X (formerly Twitter). I enjoy mountain climbing, especially since it is currently climbing season. My friends were only available this week, but I have a work transfer scheduled,” F said in an interview.
The pair undertook the climb via the Selo route in Boyolali on Friday (29/5). F travelled from Purwokerto to Yogyakarta, where she was picked up by H, before they proceeded by motorcycle to the Selo climbing post.
At the start of the ascent, F carried the food supplies while H carried the camping equipment. They climbed towards Sabana 2 at the Merbabu climbing post, where they set up a tent positioned near a cliff edge. The alleged harassment occurred during the night.
“I wanted to cry, scream, and run, but there was a cliff right in front of the tent. If I had screamed, I was afraid people would think I was simply suffering from hypothermia,” she added.
The following day, F descended the mountain immediately. During the descent, the pair lost their way, but fortunately, another hiker alerted them to the incorrect path and guided them back to the right route.
F has since returned home in a state of trauma, reporting insomnia, anxiety, fear, and a loss of appetite. “To this day, I have not been able to sleep. When we met, I had just been discharged after receiving an intravenous drip,” she said.
F shared the incident with her sibling and requested that her sibling confront H. During a subsequent meeting, H was asked to meet F in Purwokerto to resolve the matter and offer a direct apology.