Dr. Marcia Soumokil, MPH, Executive Director of the IPAS Indonesia Foundation, served as a speaker for the Grand Lecture at the National Peer Education Workshop (NPEW) 2025, organized by CIMSA Indonesia in April 2025 in Yogyakarta.
The NPEW is a biennial event of the Standing Committee on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights including HIV & AIDS (SCORA) CIMSA Indonesia. This year, NPEW was held at Gadjah Mada University with the theme “Adapting to Transformations in Sexual and Reproductive Health: Building Resilience for a Sustainable Future.”
On that occasion, she delivered a presentation related to clinical management for victims of violence. She emphasized that this topic is crucial for supporting comprehensive and holistic healthcare services for victims. Furthermore, the trend of violence cases in Indonesia is increasing.
“Sexual violence is not about sex, but about control and power. It occurs due to an imbalanced power dynamic between perpetrators and victims, and this is what we must change together,” she added.
The presentation at this Grand Lecture is expected to provide a foundation of knowledge and motivation to participants to become pioneers in educating the public about this often-taboo issue.
“We are all responsible for creating safe, victim-centered spaces that respect all decisions made by women,” she explained.
One of the participants, Rifyal Syauqi from CIMSA Faculty of Medicine, Public Health, and Nursing, Gadjah Mada University, stated that the material from the IPAS Indonesia Foundation provided new knowledge.
“Ms. Marcia’s grand lecture session was very insightful. The data and presentation provided opened new insights for us, especially on how we, as prospective healthcare professionals, can contribute to increasing awareness and preparedness in addressing sexual violence,” said Rifyal.
He added that this activity is highly relevant, considering the still high trend of sexual violence around us, and many victims are still afraid to speak out. The hope is that after this event, participants can become healthcare professionals capable of effectively delivering sexual education to the wider community, especially among adolescents and university students.
In addition to the IPAS Indonesia Foundation, this Grand Lecture also featured representatives from the Ministry of Population and Family Development, as well as other stakeholders. Cross-sector collaboration like this is important to integrate policies, medical approaches, and social support comprehensively in addressing the issue of sexual violence.