“Writing is part of the recovery process. Sometimes, expressing what we mean is not always easy. However, by showing it in a photograph, we can convey the intended message,” Helen Intanita – SAMMI Institute.
Adinda Arbaningrum is one of the participants of the Metaformosa Photovoice Workshop and Exhibition: A Journey to Choose Recovery held in Semarang, Central Java. This photovoice (‘
For Adinda, this activity is very important for sharing her story related to the violence she experienced with the public. Nevertheless, she also acknowledges that the journey to recover from that event was not easy. The bitter feeling still lingers within her.
“I believe this training is very important because I personally felt relieved when some [people] understood the difficulties of my journey. And I believe it is important when we share a little bit of our story so that bitter experiences can find solutions and there will not be a second bitter experience,” said Adinda.
She added that the workshop and exhibition she participated in with 15 other participants were very interesting for understanding and acknowledging how she recovered from that bitter experience. Furthermore, sharing her story through photos and narratives became one way for her to try to reconcile and heal from the trauma.
This photovoice activity is part of the commemoration of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (16HAKTP) organized by PKBI Central Java, supported by the IPAS Indonesia Foundation through funding from the Government of Canada. This activity collaborates with DP3AP2KB Central Java, PKBI Central Java, LRC KJ-HAM, LBH APIK Semarang, SAMMI Institute, and Setara.
Elisabet S.A Widyastuti, Executive Director of PKBI Central Java, stated that one of the objectives of this photovoice workshop and exhibition is to raise public awareness regarding violence against women. Through photographic art, this activity is expected to convey messages that are easily understood by all segments of society.
“This Photovoice Workshop and Exhibition is integrated as part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (16HAKTP) commemoration to provide a creative and impactful approach in supporting women survivors of violence in their struggles, and to build awareness of existing issues of violence. With this background, it is hoped that the photovoice workshop and exhibition can be an effective means of raising awareness and supporting the fight against violence against women,” said Elisabet.
This photovoice workshop and exhibition activity is conducted in three stages. First is gathering participants from the network of campaigns for preventing violence against women in Central Java. Second is the workshop and photo curation. Finally, there is the photo exhibition held on December 9, 2023.