Strengthening Indonesia’s national capacity to measure and prevent violence against women

Building on the momentum of Indonesia’s 2022 Sexual Violence Law, the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) is strengthening national systems to measure and prevent violence against women and girls under its Strategic Plan 2025–2029.

From 13 to 16 October 2025, Komnas Perempuan convened a technical workshop in Jakarta to refine indicators and develop a monitoring and evaluation system for the new Strategic Plan. The workshop was supported by UN Women through the UN Joint Programme on Gender-Based Violence Prevention in Southeast Asia, implemented jointly with the United Nations Population Fund, with funding from the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It was also supported by the European Union-funded initiative “Strengthening the leadership of the Indonesian National Commission on Violence against Women to implement the Law on Sexual Violence Crimes and other relevant laws addressing gender-based violence against women”.

The event gathered more than 70 participants from Komnas Perempuan, the National Development Planning Agency, the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (MoWECP), the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Cultural Affairs, and the National Commission on Human Rights. It was co-facilitated by UN Women and The Prevention Collaborative, which introduced two global frameworks: Making Progress in Prevention Possible (MPPP) and RESPECT, to guide the development of monitoring indicators and strengthen policy alignment.

“The issue of prevention is a pillar of Komnas Perempuan, not only limited to the Sexual Violence Law, but integrated from the Domestic Violence Law, Trafficking in Persons Law, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW),” said Ratna Batara Munti, Vice-Chair of Komnas Perempuan. “By utilizing the global framework of RESPECT and aligning it with MPPP, we are sharpening the indicators of the 2025–2029 Strategic Plan to guide stakeholders towards a strategic and measurable approach.”

Through group exercises and technical sessions, participants reviewed draft indicators, clarified institutional roles and explored ways to apply evidence-based approaches to prevention. The workshop also helped build a shared understanding of how progress on violence prevention can be measured across national, institutional and community levels.

“The key to an Indonesia free from violence is a commitment to the elimination of violence against women. With the initiation of the National Action Plan against Violence, the strengthening of the Integrated Service Centre for Women and Children, and by ensuring that the strategic plan is aligned with RESPECT and the Sustainable Development Goals, we can measure success in realizing this aspiration,” said Woro Sri Hastuti Sulistyaningrum, Deputy for Coordination of Family and Population Quality Improvement at the Coordinating Ministry for Human Development and Culture.

Representatives from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection further emphasized the importance of continued efforts to build data systems and community engagement.

“Although the prevalence data show a decrease in violence against women, our work is not yet finished. Prevention is a massive movement. We encourage public literacy, group activation and the dissemination of SAPA (reporting) services to accelerate the reduction of violence against women towards a safe Indonesia,” said Margaretha Robin, Assistant Deputy for Formulation and Coordination of Women’s Rights Protection Policy at MoWECP.

The workshop concluded with a technical session where Komnas Perempuan staff discussed approaches to measuring indicators and identified next steps for implementation. Participants underscored the importance of aligning national and institutional frameworks to ensure that prevention efforts remain evidence-based and measurable.

“The focus on violence prevention is still alarmingly low: there is a lack of comprehensive programmes and sub-optimal utilization of data,” added Dwi Yuliawati, Head of Programme at UN Women Indonesia. “The answer is the RESPECT framework. This framework views prevention holistically – ranging from relationships to poverty – as an effort to create best practices in prevention that can be replicated in Indonesia.”