“Let’s dare to speak up, believe me there must be a safe space, speak up!” was the message conveyed by Asyifa Azdkiah Haqiqi, the organizer of the activity “We Speak Up Because WeMatter: Empowered Youth Free from Violence”. This activity was carried out to commemorate International Youth Day which falls on August 12.
The event, held at the Joint Secretariat Building of Surakarta City, Central Java on August 2, 2025, was organized by Health Rangers – an initiative to encourage young people in Central Java to understand more about violence including its prevention and access to services.
Data from the National Survey on the Life Experiences of Children and Adolescents in 2024 showed that 10.58% of men and 11.43% of women aged 18-24 experienced one or more forms of sexual violence before the age of 18. Based on these findings, adolescents have an important role in preventing and handling violence, from understanding violence, reporting to providing support, accessing services to creating safe spaces in their communities.
Asyifa explained that the theme “WeSpeak Up Because We Matter”was chosen to encourage young people to know how they can have a safe space. “That even teenagers are able to be empowered and know what violence is,” she emphasized.
This activity was packaged through discussions involving at least 100 young people from various communities. The discussion topics included education about violence, including sexual violence, the rights of victims of violence and how victims report if they experience violence.
Fransisca, one of the participants from the Mojosongo Youth Community in Surakarta City, said that she was very enthusiastic about participating in the discussion. “It’s fun, from participating in this activity, I gained experience and knowledge such as new information about complaints [of victims of violence],” she said.
The“WeSpeak Up Because We Matter”activity is part of the Health Rangers’ action to increase knowledge related to violence, especially sexual violence, for a wide audience. Previously, 30 young people were trained in a three-day workshop organized by Pilar PKBI Central Java.
PKBI Central Java Pillar Project Officer Anis Sapitri said she was quite happy because the number of participants who attended exceeded expectations. There was a concern that we could reach 75 participants but more than 100 people attended, the Deputy Mayor of Surakarta also attended and gave support, the Health Rangers were called, ” she said.
She hopes that the Health Rangers can create more initiatives in an interesting way to reach more young people to learn about violence and create safe spaces together.
Health Rangers ispart of the IPAS Indonesia Foundation’s ARUNIKA (Empowered Women for a Violence-Free Indonesia) program supported by the Government of Canada. The program is run in Sukoharjo Regency, Semarang Regency, and Surakarta City with the aim of improving access to comprehensive and holistic services for victims of violence.
Reporter: Purwantining Fitri Kawuri
