Strengthening Communities, Expanding Access for Survivors of Violence

When someone experiences gender-based and sexual violence (GBSV), seeking help isn’t always easy. Many survivors don’t know who they can talk to, where to report the incident, or how to get safe support. In situations like this, the community plays a crucial role.

In Semarang Regency, Central Java, community members are often the first people the public turns to when facing problems. They are neighbors, friends, or people whom people know and trust in their daily lives. This role is now being further strengthened through the ARUNIKA (Empowered Women for a Violence-Free Indonesia) program by LBH APIK Semarang. This program is implemented by the IPAS Indonesia Foundation in collaboration with the Government of Canada.

For nearly the past two years, the Arkasa Community and the Justitia ARUNIKA Community have been working to support the community and respond to cases of gender-based and sexual violence. In addition to supporting survivors, community members also face the challenge of properly documenting cases and ensuring that knowledge about providing support is passed on to new members.

To address these needs, community members participated in training on case management, documentation, and training skills on August 8, 2026. Through this training, participants are expected not only to be able to provide support to the community but also to pass on their knowledge and skills to the next generation of community leaders. This training is part of the ARUNIKA program implemented by the IPAS Indonesia Foundation in collaboration with the Government of Canada.

For Ilyas Nurfahmi, Secretary of the Arkasa Community, this training provided a new perspective on how mentoring should be conducted. “From this training, the first thing I gained was new knowledge, and the second was experience,” he said.

According to Ilyas, the material on documentation, record-keeping, and the guidance process provides important tools that will help him handle cases more effectively in the future. This knowledge not only strengthens his capacity as an individual but also improves the quality of the guidance the community provides to the public.

Rio Eddy Hardono of the Justitia ARUNIKA Community shares this sentiment. For him, documentation is not merely a matter of recording events, but an essential part of ensuring that every case is handled properly and that survivors receive the support they need.

“This material can serve as a guide for victim advocates to ensure they follow a case management process that is both swift and safe for the victims,” he said.

Meanwhile, Rulia Iva Dhalia, a Program Officer at LBH APIK Semarang, believes that the sustainability of this movement depends heavily on the community’s ability to continue learning and sharing knowledge. Therefore, community leaders not only need to understand issues of violence and access to services but also have the ability to pass that knowledge on to the people around them.

By building the capacity of community leaders, this program fosters the creation of a support ecosystem that is stronger, more sustainable, and more accessible to the public—especially survivors of gender-based and sexual violence. According to Rulian, the more community members who possess the skills to provide support and training, the greater the community’s chances of obtaining accurate information, safe support, and faster access to services when facing violence.