Sustainable Youth Collaboration on Promoting Access to Justice for Women in The Criminal Justice System

"We decided to create a campaign because there is no prevention system on sexual violence in our universities, and victims often don’t know where to go or what to do."

The goal of the project is to build a Sustainable Youth Collaboration on Promoting Access to Justice for Women In the Criminal Justice System

Main Objectives:

• To gather together young activists, women defenders, and young women with lived experience of abuse or been in criminal law processes as victims – Youth Collab
• Use codesign to obtain evidence, develop insights, and identify opportunities for Youth Collab to influence policy and practice and community attitudes in relation to this challenge – i.e. Women’s Access to Justice
• To choose at least one opportunity for a campaign related to Youth Collab’s objectives sustain an action network from this codesign process and to implement and evaluate it
• Sustain and strengthen relationships with experienced co-design and campaign workers from New Zealand

Rezky Pratiwi’s project, hosted by YLBHI-LBH Makassar, aimed to promote access to justice for women in the criminal justice system, especially those affected by sexual violence, through the formation of a youth-led initiative called Seruan Perempuan. Using co-design methods, the team brought together young activists, paralegals, lawyers, and women’s rights advocates to explore systemic challenges and design collective responses. A series of workshops, FGDs (Focus Group Discussions), and collaborative sessions were conducted to build knowledge, gather testimony, and plan advocacy actions. The project initially faced challenges reaching survivors directly due to trauma and COVID-19 restrictions, but adapted by working with representatives and shifting to online formats.

One of the key results was the survey and documentation of 44 cases of sexual violence in universities across Makassar, revealing gaps in institutional responses and victim support systems. These findings were shared publicly through an FGD, an online webinar with over 300 combined attendees/viewers, and ongoing social media campaigns under the hashtag #KampusLawanKS. The project advocated for the implementation of an existing Ministry of Religious Affairs guideline on handling sexual violence in Islamic universities, specifically targeting UIN Alauddin Makassar. Although collaboration with the university’s gender center was delayed due to the pandemic, the project helped catalyze the drafting of a campus policy on sexual violence prevention, launched in early 2021.

Beyond the immediate advocacy, the project produced a pocketbook guide to support survivors, hosted regular coordination meetings, and built a digital presence to engage broader audiences. Through these efforts, the project not only contributed to a policy shift but also empowered young women and grassroots actors with tools and knowledge to advocate for justice. The experience also significantly strengthened the project leader’s leadership, campaign management, and digital advocacy skills, laying a foundation for sustained future action.