“Writing is part of the recovery process. Sometimes, expressing what we mean is not always easy. However, by showing it in a photo, it can convey what our message means,” Helen Intanita – SAMMI Institute.
Adinda Arbaningrum is one of the participants of the Metaformosa Photovoice Workshop and Exhibition: A Journey to Recover held in Semarang, Central Java. This photovoice (‘fotosuara’) activity aims to voice the stories of women recovering from experiences of violence. Photovoice is a research method that involves participants sharing their experiences through photographs accompanied by personal narratives.
For Adinda, this activity is so important to share her story related to the violence she experienced with the public. Even so, she also admitted that the journey to recover from the incident was not easy. The bitterness is still there in her heart.
“I think this training is very important because I myself know what it feels like to be relieved when some [orang] know the difficulty of my path. And I think it’s important when we share a little bit of our story so that bitter events find a solution and there will be no second bitter events,” said Adinda.
She added that the workshop and exhibition that she went through along with 15 other participants was very interesting to understand and acknowledge how she rose from that bitter experience. In fact, revealing her story through photos and narratives became one of the ways for her to try to reconcile and heal from the trauma.
This photovoice activity is part of the commemoration of 16 Days Against Violence Against Women (16HAKTP) organized by PKBI Central Java supported by the IPAS Indonesia Foundation through funding from the Government of Canada. This activity is in collaboration with DP3AP2KB Central Java, PKBI Central Java, LRC KJ-HAM, LBH APIK Semarang, SAMMI Institute, and Setara.
Executive Director of PKBI Central Java, Elisabet S.A Widyastuti, said one of the objectives of the photovoice workshop and exhibition was to raise public awareness of violence against women. Through the art of photography, this activity is expected to convey messages that are easily understood by all levels of society.
“The Photovoice Workshop and Exhibition was integrated as part of the 16th anniversary of HAKTP to provide a creative and memorable approach to support women survivors of violence in their struggles, as well as to build awareness of persisting issues of violence. With this background, it is hoped that the photovoice workshop and exhibition can be an effective tool in raising awareness and supporting the fight against violence against women,” said Elisabet.
This photovoice workshop and exhibition was conducted in three stages. The first was to gather participants from the violence against women prevention campaign network in Central Java. Then, the second is a workshop and photo curation. Finally, the photo exhibition was held on December 9, 2023.
