on sexual violence to 78 schools
with a total of 15,000 students for
5 days. “A girl student once wrote
a note to us, ‘I was once sexually
abused in a train and because of
Lentera Sintas Indonesia, I finally
figured out how to respond to
that,’” Hage shared. “And that’s the
real measurement of success that
we highly appreciate rather than
the number of counseling sessions
we do in schools,” she added.
Hage is also the campaign
director of #MulaiBicara (“start to
speak” in English), a movement
under Lentera Sintas that was
implemented in April 2016 to raise
awareness that sexual violence
is not only the responsibilty
of the government and non-
government organizations, but the
responsibility of all. In an interview,
Hage explained that this campaign
encourages people to begin
speaking up for victims of sexual
violence who cannot speak up for
themselves.
The most recent initiative of
the #MulaiBicara campaign
is to urge the government of
Indonesia particularly the House of
Representatives to ultimately ratify
the Draft Law on the Elimination
of Sexual Violence by conducting
a petition which requires 150,000
signatures in total. “The actual
purpose is not only to reach the
targeted number, but to advocate
and educate the public about
the existence, the content and
the impact of the law if it is either
being implemented or neglected
by the institution since people are
22
Change Magazine September 2017 www.changemag-diinsider.com
not aware about this policy,” Hage
explained. The current number of
signatures is at 85,143.
Lentera Sintas is aware that
behavior change towards sexual
violence will be a challenge.
Another challenge they are
anticipating is finding long term
solutions to keep their foundation
running. They also hope to be
a part of the national campaign
of the National Commission
on Violence Against Women
Indonesia. Fortunately, their
campaign #MulaiBicara has started
collaborating with #GerakBersama
(“moving together” in English) from
National Commission on Violence
Against Women Indonesia in
empowering women. This is a
great milestone for the foundation.
Despite the challenges in the
fight against sexual violence in
Indonesia, Lentera Sintas remains
a source hope and strength for
the victims of sexual violence.
“The only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good men
to do nothing,” Hage quotes Irish
Statesman Edmund Burke.
www.changemag-diinsider.com Change Magazine September 2017
23