IPAS Indonesia Foundation held an official meeting with the Department of Women’s Empowerment, Child Protection, Population Control, and Family Planning (DP3AP2KB) of Surakarta City, Central Java, on Thursday, August 29, 2024. The purpose of this meeting was to introduce the ARUNIKA project (Empowered Women for an Indonesia Free from Violence).
This project, supported by the Canadian Government, aims to pilot the implementation of comprehensive and holistic services for victims and survivors of Gender-Based and Sexual Violence (KBGS) in three regions in Central Java: Surakarta City, Semarang Regency, and Sukoharjo Regency.
Selfi Rawung, S.KM., Head of the Women’s Empowerment and Quality of Life Division of Surakarta City DP3AP2KB, stated that her office supports the ARUNIKA program. She emphasized that this program aligns with the Surakarta City government’s initiative, GAES LURAHE PENAK (Women-Friendly and Child-Caring Quality Family Villages). This initiative was created to empower women, especially survivors of violence.
She added that this program is highly consistent with the strategies for preventing and addressing violence against women and children designed by the Surakarta City Government. It is hoped that this program will run well and can serve as a model for other villages.
“The ARUNIKA program will complement the violence reduction programs for women and children that have been initiated by the Surakarta City government. Therefore, this program is planned for five villages that will serve as pilot areas,” she asserted.
Jaclyn Kaunang, Community Access and Mobilization Specialist of IPAS Indonesia Foundation, added that this meeting also included the signing of a cooperation agreement for the ARUNIKA program. Previously, IPAS Indonesia Foundation and the Surakarta City Government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding for this program.
“The ARUNIKA program’s intervention will focus on multi-sector collaboration, especially with community groups, starting from the smallest community, namely families, who will be the focus of education and outreach regarding KBGS to create a supportive environment for fulfilling the rights of sexual violence survivors,” Jaclyn stated.
She added that the IPAS Indonesia Foundation team will continue to coordinate with DP3AP2KB and local partners in the project area to ensure program implementation. Furthermore, her team will follow up on cooperation plans with local governments in two other intervention areas, namely Semarang Regency and Sukoharjo Regency, which are currently in the final discussion stage.
In addition, IPAS Indonesia Foundation will also undertake important steps such as validating initial project assessments and collaborating with civil society organizations.
“With these steps, the ARUNIKA Program is expected to be a catalyst for change in efforts to end violence against women and girls in Indonesia,” Jaclyn concluded.
Data from Surakarta City DP3AP2KB shows an increase in cases of violence with female victims. In 2019, 31 cases were recorded. This number increased to 48 cases in 2023. At the provincial level, Surakarta City ranks sixth among regencies/cities with the highest number of violence cases in Central Java.