Across Indonesia from the rural communities of Brebes, the coastal stretches of Serang, and the highlands of Garut to the eastern landscapes of Lombok Timur, frontline service providers work tirelessly to support and protect survivors. They navigate complex coordination systems and respond to cases that are often hidden or unreported. These counselors, social workers, psychologists, and legal advocates choose, every day, to listen, to assist, and to stand with survivors when few others can. Their work may not always be visible, but its impact is deeply felt.

In September 2025, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Indonesia, together with the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA), convened the In-Service Training on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Case Management in Bogor, West Java, under the Women at the Center – Perempuan Indonesia Hidup Tanpa Kekerasan (PIHAK) project supported by Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd.

 

 

More than 40 frontline case workers, case managers, and psychologists enhanced their skills in gender-sensitive, trauma-informed, and well-coordinated case management through Indonesia’s first professionalized training on VAWG case management. This milestone represents a shift from one-off capacity-building activities to a sustainable, government-led system for quality VAWG response.

Jointly organized by the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA) and the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos), with support from UNFPA, the training forms a core component of Indonesia’s emerging certification pathway for VAWG service providers. As KemenPPPA finalizes a new Ministerial Regulation on the Regional Technical Implementation Unit/Multi-stakeholders Integrated Services for Women and Child Protection (UPTD PPA) requiring VAWG case workers to obtain certification, this training serves as the foundational module, complemented by structured supervision, mentoring, and engagement in a national community of practice. The curriculum is currently being standardised at the Ministry of Social Affairs (Kemensos) training center, ensuring long-term government ownership, consistent quality, and a clear professional pathway for service providers.

For many, it sparked transformation at both personal and institutional levels, demonstrating how much stronger services can be when practitioners are supported, prepared, and emotionally grounded. This shift becomes even clearer in Ella’s story that follows.

 

 

Building Survivor-Centered Case Management

 

Now we understand our roles. We coordinate with those who share the same vision, and in the end, we move as one team,"

- Ifa

 

 

When Ella first joined the Office of Women’s Empowerment, Child Protection, and Population Management (DP3KB) in Brebes, she brought with her a decade of experience teaching young children. She shared during the interview that what she encountered was far from what she had imagined. It was true that she was still working with girls and women, but the landscape was entirely different. “I thought it would be similar to teaching,” she said softly. “I still meet adolescent girls, women, even children, but not to teach them. They are survivors of violence, and my role now is to listen, to comfort, and to help them rebuild their sense of safety.”

 

 

In her early days, Ella responded to cases with instinct and emotion. “I used to cry with the survivors,” she recalled. “I didn’t know how else to show empathy.” The case management training shifted everything. It provided a clear, structured pathway—from intake and assessment to intervention, monitoring, and closure. For the first time, each case was documented, tracked, and managed with intention rather than carried heavily on emotion alone.

Her colleague at the Social Affairs Office (Dinsos) in Brebes, Ifa, experienced a similar transformation. “Before, we worked in silos,” she recalled. “We used to overlap cases. No one knew exactly who was responsible for what.”

 

 

Today, Dinsos, the police, hospitals, psychologists, and DP3KB coordinate as one unified network. “Now we understand our roles. We coordinate with those who share the same vision, and in the end, we move as one team,” she said, then added, “Structure protects survivors. It also protects us, helping us respond more strategically and consistently.”

 

 

Strengthening Coordination and Multi-Sector Collaboration

 

We used to wait for survivors to come to us.. Now we reach out first.” - Amel

 

Garut, West Java faces a different challenge: geography. Survivors living in remote hill villages often cannot afford transportation or do not know where to seek help. “We used to wait for survivors to come to us,” Amel explained. “Now we reach out first.” Amel is a counsellor and psychologist at the Regional Technical Implementation Unit/Multi-stakeholders Integrated Services for Women and Child Protection (UPTD PPA) in Garut, West Java.

 

 

When a case of violence against women goes viral, the pressure intensifies. Media demand updates, online activists create noise, and strangers interfere. “Through the training, we learned how to shield survivors from public pressure and work together with other organisations like hospitals, the police, and the court.” Amel said. “We protect them not only from violence, but also from public judgment.”

In Serang, West Java, legal advocate Mumtahanah (Mum), who also serves as the Director of the Women’s Legal Aid Association for Justice (LBH APIK), strengthens collaboration through formal legal pathways. Her commitment began in childhood, watching women in her neighbourhood endure suffering in silence. “Someone had to help them,” she recalled. And for the past two decades, she has.

 

 

One case remains unforgettable: a young mother trapped by fear and family pressure. “I accompanied her from the first report until the court’s decision,” Mum said. “When she told me that she had finally reclaimed her life—the life she could fully control—and said, ‘I can now freely breathe again,’ I knew why this work matters.” Mum reflected.

The training empowered her team to push for formal agreements with UPTD PPA and the local government. “Coordination should not depend on personal relationships,” she said. “It must be guaranteed and legitimate.”

 

 

Leaving No One Behind: The Inclusive Care

 

“Inclusivity is not a luxury, it is a necessity.” - Rita

 

In Serang, the UPTD PPA led by Irma—is run by only four women who serve all 29 sub-districts. “With the high number of cases and limited resources, we ensure that every record we make is not merely administration in case management. It becomes a source of learning and a guide for the recovery steps of the next survivor,” Irma explained.

 

One of their most challenging cases involved an adolescent girl with a hearing impairment who had survived sexual violence. Coordinating and responding to her case felt like navigating through fog—her pain was visible, yet her words remained just out of reach because communicating her experience required time, patience, and specialised support.

“Before the training, uncertainties like these were often filled with assumptions,” said Rita, a counsellor at UPTD PPA Serang. “But now, we have learned to slow down, observe, and think critically.” To communicate with survivors with hearing impairments, the team uses drawings, gestures, written prompts, and long, gentle pauses. “Inclusivity is not a luxury,” Rita said firmly. “It is a necessity.”

 

 

Firman from Brebes has experience in supporting a young woman with disabilities whose family hesitated to both report the case and receive the support due to stigma and distance around the village. “We arranged transport, coordinated with the hospital and psychologists, and helped the family understand why reporting mattered,” he said. He concluded, “access and empathy must go together.”

 

 

 

Emotional Resilience and Self-Care for Service Providers

 

For Laka, a social worker in Garut, resilience is rooted in his core memory. “I was a street child once,” he said quietly. “I know what it feels like to be ignored and not to be heard.” For years, he relied on instinct like responding quickly, closing cases without documentation, doing whatever he could in the moment.

 

The training changed everything. It taught him that structure saves lives. “Without documentation, anything could go wrong in responding to violence cases,” he reflected. He also now sees that resilience is not only emotional when it is also procedural. It is the assurance that no matter how heavy a survivor’s story is, there is a clear system that guides each step forward.

Above all the stories from Brebes, Serang, Garut, to East Lombok, service providers show a quiet courage, choosing to stay, listen, and protect. In-Service training on violence against women and girls (VAWG) Case Management did more than improve skills; it reaffirmed that structure ensures safety, empathy fosters healing, and collaboration creates hope. Systems can be strengthened, but people carry the work forward. Because behind every case report is a person seeking dignity and help while behind every service provider is a steady commitment to ensure no survivor walks alone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Eka Gona Putri

 

 

 

Communications Consultant, Women at the Center - Perempuan Indonesia Hidup Tanpa Kekerasan (PIHAK)