DOI: doi.org/10.21776/ub.ijds.2023.10.02.7
213
Animation Concept as a Media to Increase Awareness of Gender-Based Violence against Women with
Intellectual Disabilities
Kezia Suciady, Ryan Sutanto, Hendian Yudani, Petra Christian University, Indonesia
Corresponding author:
Kezia Suciady,
Article history:
Received: 5 March 2023 Revised: 8 November 2023 Accepted: 18 November 2023
Published online at ijds.ub.ac.id
Copyright © 2023 Author(s) Licensed under CC BY NC
Abstract
Gender-Based Violence (GBV) continues to be a global issue that disproportionately affects women from all walks of life. Awareness and recognition of GBV in Indonesia keeps increasing, yet the attention on how it impacts women with disabilities is dangerously low. This design aims to present a solution to socialize the issue towards the general public of Indonesia. This is a qualitative descriptive research, data gathering was done in the form of interviews with important figures in the correlating fields, as well as a focus group discussion with individuals representing the target audience. Findings revealed a shortage in resources when handling GBV cases against women with Intellectual Disabilities (ID), a lack of participation from the Indonesian governmental body in aiding victims, along with a substantial interest towards a short animation video posted on YouTube with the addition of promotion on Instagram and TikTok as a socialization media and method.
Keywords: gender-based violence, intellectual disability, qualitative descriptive research, animation, socialization
1. Research Background
The number of documented cases for Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women in Indonesia increased from 226,062 cases in 2020 to 338,496 in 2021 (Komnas Perempuan, 2022). While this may show a positive track to heightened awareness and courage from victims, documented cases involving women with disabilities declined from 77 cases in 2020 to 42 in 2021. This decline cannot be linked to the actual number of cases that have happened in the span of those two years since there are factors that could contribute to the cases not being reported or even acknowledged in the first place.
Within the 42 reported cases in 2021, 22 cases involved women with Intellectual Disabilities (ID). According to annual reports publicized by Komnas Perempuan (National Commission on Violence against Women) Indonesia, women with ID can be presumed as the more vulnerable group amongst all women with disabilities. This is due to their
biggest contribution to the number of cases involving women with disabilities as victims of GBV for three consecutive years (2018-2021).
The one thing directly influencing the susceptibility of women with ID to GBV is the stigma towards them. In reducing stigma towards people with disabilities, education intervention proves to be a strong contender (Septian & Hadi, 2021). This form of intervention prioritizes improving knowledge and empathy, while also targeting the inherent attitude of the general public and striving to reduce social disparity. In this regard, a media with the ability to socialize the issue of GBV against women with ID in a manner that aligns with education intervention targeted towards the general public of Indonesia may be presumed as an excellent solution.
According to a report published by We Are Social, more than ¾ of the population in Indonesia (77% to be exact) accesses the internet. One of the most visited websites is YouTube, alluding that Indonesians are especially fond of video content. In fact, 97.4% of internet users in Indonesia aged 16-64 consumes video contents weekly (Kemp, 2023).
This signifies that a video-based media can be a great tool for reaching Indonesia’s general public. One video-based media, animation, has the power to influence its audience’s attitude (Yasa, 2019) and the ability to help discern information better (Plot et al., 2020), making it a great tool for education. These qualities coincide with the focus of education intervention. Animation for the purpose of socialization published via social media also proves to be fruitful in generating interest towards the topic of socialization (Sykes et al., 2022).
These factors are referenced for an animation concept design as a media to socialize the issue of GBV against women with ID. More data are to be collected by research to uphold effectiveness and accuracy in the conceptualizing process.
2. Method
Animation concept design mainly concern the pre-production stage of animation.
This stage consists of: 1) initial story ideas, 2) story concept, 3) character design, and 4) storyboard. Initial story ideas determine the basic concept on animation by collecting data that can help form the story and message. These initial ideas are then compiled and described in the story concept, which requires a lot of creativity. Finally, the character design and storyboard go hand-in-hand to visualize the animation for all parties involved (Aprianto & Saputro, 2020).
Data collection utilizes qualitative descriptive research which includes methods such as interviews and focus groups (Doyle et al., 2020). A chairwoman of a non-profit organization for ID causes based in Jakarta, and a clinical psychologist focusing on children’s developmental disabilities based in Tanah Bumbu Regency, South Kalimantan, were chosen as interviewees. The latter is also a consultant for cases of violence against women and children in one Woman Empowerment and Child Protection Agency. These interviewees were chosen based on their relevancy to the subject matter, one having lived and worked closely with people with ID for decades and the other being an expert in
handling disabilities such as Intellectual Disabilities (ID). Both women are also active figures in fighting violence and injustice against people with disabilities. Interviews were done by telephone, with several open-ended questions inquiring: 1) society’s perception of people with ID, 2) the vulnerability of women with ID towards Gender-Based Violence (GBV), 3) the pattern in which it occurs, 4) the hardships in facing it, 5) government efforts, and 6) the best course of action to take.
A focus group discussion with 8 participants took place via Google Meet. Half of the participants are men and the other half women, one participant from each gender group is closely related to a person with ID. Participants’ ages range from 21-23 years old, 7 out of 8 are university students in Surabaya and the remaining participant is currently working as an auditor in Indonesia’s capital city, Jakarta. Questions asked to encourage the discussion assess: 1) their knowledge and interest in social issues comparable to the one being discussed, 2) their method of accessing information pertaining to social issues, 3) their interest and opinions on animation as a socialization media, and 4) their preference towards socialization platforms.
3. Findings
2.1 Interview Insights
One might think that society has become more accepting. This is true to some extent, according to statements made by both interviewees. The chairwoman found that the general public is more accepting and protective towards people with disabilities if they are integrated well into society, while the psychologist described the current state of acceptance for people with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) as adequate, but only in more progressive cities such as Jakarta. The psychologist talked about multiple instances in which she has witnessed parents or caregivers thinking of the condition as shameful and going as far as to label it a disgrace.
While the chairwoman doesn’t credit the condition of an intellectual disability for putting women with ID at a greater risk of experiencing Gender-Based Violence (GBV), the psychologist stated that women with ID are exceptionally vulnerable towards GBV because of their cognitive condition and mental age. This means that an adult woman with ID could have the logic and behavior equivalent to that of a child. Because of this, they’re at the highest risk of falling victim to grooming. Grooming is the act of forming a relationship, trust, and emotional connection with a child, for the purpose of manipulation, exploitation, and abuse (Western University, 2020). Grooming could then lead to sexual violence, which according to the psychologist, is one of the most common forms of GBV experienced by women with ID. Both interviewees revealed that GBV against women with ID often occurs in places the victims frequently spend their time at and is perpetrated by people who closely live and/or work around them, such as family members and people who work in educational institutions specified for people with disabilities. The chairwoman added that this is because people with ID don’t spend a lot of time wandering about and mostly stay in closed environments.
The additional hurdles in tackling this issue center around the lack of resources and reliable participation of the Indonesian government. To give a perspective on how unequipped Indonesia is in assisting people with ID, the psychologist is the only clinical psychologist specializing in developmental disabilities in Tanah Bumbu Regency, South Kalimantan, which is populated by around 300,000 citizens (Statistics of Tanah Bumbu Regency, n.d.). This is particularly concerning given the fact that according to the psychologist, one of the most important first steps in handling cases of GBV against women with ID involves the assistance of a clinical psychologist to best communicate with and comfort victims, so that investigation can proceed with minimal difficulty. Even in Jakarta, one of the most progressive regions in Indonesia, the chairwoman divulged the poor handling of these cases by the governmental bodies of Indonesia. Baseless accusations of flirtatious behavior and consent resulting in the act of reported GBV are nonchalantly thrown around in one case that the chairwoman was personally involved in.
In that same case, the chairwoman revealed the mishandling of the victim during a medical examination where no psychological assistance was given, and four male adults of the police department were present during the exam which required the victim to expose her private parts. This resulted in even greater trauma for the victim.
The chairwoman claimed to have received no attention by the government when talking about guidance and support for people with ID. She has spent 15-20 years in her field, participating in numerous events hosted by governmental bodies that supposedly aim to improve the condition of people with ID, and yet her dissatisfaction with these efforts remains. The chairwoman also mentioned that it’s hard to even get a clear and accurate data provided by the government on people with ID.
As informed by the psychologist, one thing that the general public can do when witnessing or suspecting an act of GBV against women with ID, is to contact a Woman Empowerment and Child Protection Agency (Dinas Pemberdayaan Perempuan dan Perlindungan Anak) in their corresponding region. The psychologist stressed that preventive measures are of the utmost importance in facing this issue, and such efforts can be achieved through education. Similarly, the chairwoman recommended the integration of a strong message or important information in designing this socialization media to maximize the impact of it.
2.2 Focus Group Discussion Insights
Participants of the discussion showed a shortfall of knowledge in the issue of GBV against women with ID. Some participants that claimed to be aware of this issue are unable to exactly explain the circumstances and admitted to only having common sense on the issue. This common sense refers to the belief that even women with no disability struggle with GBV and it’s only logical to assume that women with disabilities would face the same, if not worse, situation. Half of the participants professed that they had never even thought about this issue. Even so, all of them expressed some degree of interest towards social issues such as the one being discussed. In the context of accessing
information on social issues, participants often do so by scrolling through social media at night or when they have free time in the afternoon.
Participants expressed a significant amount of approval and interest in the use of animation as a socialization media for the issue being discussed. One keyword that kept coming up in this segment of discussion is ‘visual’. Participants seem to show a positive attitude towards visual-based information and believe that animation is a highly suitable media to help achieve the purpose of this design. To be exact, an animation video that extends no longer than 5 minutes as any longer would risk boredom. Although most of the participants seem to equally fancy all styles of animation, a 2D style with an illusion of depth seem to interest almost all of them (6 out of 8). However, participants admitted to paying more attention to the story of an animation rather than the look of it. This means that they highly enjoy a short animation video with an engaging story, no matter what style of animation is used.
Participants agreed that YouTube would be the best platform to publish the video, coupled with promotional content on TikTok and Instagram. This promotional content may be in the form of a teaser video or endorsement to movie influencers, to name a few.
4. Concept Design
2.3 Technical Concept
The title of the animation is ‘Tanpa Batas’, which translates to ‘Boundless’ in English. ‘Boundless’ can be interpreted in many ways, such as: 1) a persuasion to break the boundaries people often give themselves to justify not stepping in and helping others because the misfortune of others doesn’t directly impact them, 2) a reminder that there are no bounds to who can help a person in need, it doesn’t have to be their family and friends, it could just be regular people who see the immediate threat someone is in, and 3) a calling to help abolish the things bounding women with ID from the freedom to experience their rights as human beings.
This animation will have a duration of no more than 5 minutes with a 2.5D look to it.
This visual style of animation primarily uses 2D assets and adds light and shadow to emulate depth. The 2.5D style further emphasizes this illusion by the use of element layering process, which puts objects at a distance in a blur and objects closer to the audience in more focus, and vice versa (Eriya, 2019). The storytelling itself will be purely visual with no dialogue, this requires the audience to watch closely and interpret the story themselves, keeping them engaged throughout the animation.
2.4 Creative Concept (Pre-Production) 1. Initial Story Ideas and Story Concept
Ideas for the story first stemmed from the research background, which presents the theme of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women with Intellectual Disabilities (ID).
More ideas were then pulled from interview insights detailing the reality of this issue, the pattern in which it occurs, and the message that needs to be relayed to the audience.
The story used in this animation takes place in a familiar setting for the target audience, a minimarket resembling one famous minimarket chain in Indonesia. It follows a normal guy in his early 20s who works at checkout and later figures out that some form of GBV has occurred to a woman with ID in his community. The cashier represents the target audience, who is now exposed to this jarring issue and must take action. The story doesn’t only depict the issue, it also depicts the struggles women with ID face when trying to achieve justice. As a clear takeaway for the audience, this animation will then explicitly explain ways the audience can help.
2. Character Design
The main characters of this animation are Farisa, Ansar, and Ghilan. The supporting characters are Farisa’s mother and Ansar’s workmate. Farisa is a woman in her early 20’s with a striking look. Farisa has Down Syndrome, giving her distinct facial features and a petite figure. Down Syndrome is chosen as the depicted intellectual disability because of its noticeable physical attributes, making it easy for the audience to recognize the condition Farisa has immediately. Farisa’s fair skin tone is used to indicate that she doesn’t spend a lot of time out and about and mostly stays indoors.
Ansar is the guy working the cashier. He is someone who mostly minds his own business but also gets curious when things appear to have a deeper story to it. He spends a lot of time on his phone and the audience will even see some parts of the story unravel through the screen of his phone. Ansar represents the audience in more ways than one, his physical appearance closely resembles most male young-adults in Indonesia with tanned skin, textured hair, and a relatively lean build. This is used to make his character relatable and help to establish an emotional connection with the audience.
Ghilan is the perpetrator of violence against Farisa. Despite that, he will initially appear courteous. Ghilan has an identifying tattoo of a snake on his arm which will be pertinent to the story as it progresses. His tattoo is that of a snake, an animal that is commonly associated with deceit. His demeanor also appears benevolent, contrasting his despicable deeds. Ghilan tends to purchase items that are meant for children and particularly little girls, which interests Ansar. This certain action is meant to depict the act of grooming, where perpetrators try to gain trust by doing favors for their target.
As for the supporting characters, Farisa’s mother is shown as a very busy woman wearing work-appropriate clothing, indicating that she spends most of her time engrossed with her occupation. Ansar’s workmate is designed to portray a different appearance to male young-adults in Indonesia than what is already represented by Ansar.
Picture 1. Character Designs: Farisa (A), Ansar (B), Ghilan (C), Farisa’s mother (D), Ansar’s workmate (E)
3. Storyboard
The storyboard is split into 6 scenes. The first scene establishes the setting of this animation, a minimarket called In-Mart. In this scene the audience sees Ansar’s daily view, customers walking in and out without caring to converse with him. Ghilan is different, though, he warmly greets Ansar and always seem to be in a good mood. Ansar is clearly happy to see Ghilan, but he’s more interested in Ghilan’s purchase. Ghilan purchases items that look like they were intended for young girls, contrasting his macho look with that tattoo of a snake. Ansar examines Ghilan’s hand as he waits for his change, no wedding ring in sight.
Picture 2. Scene 1 Storyboard
The second scene starts off with Ansar entering the staff room and writing on the attendance sheet, he fills in for his friend in night shift whereas he usually works day shifts.
After that, we see him on his phone. He’s in the middle of a conversation with a friend where he talks about how funny it is that Ghilan almost always buys girly childlike things even though he most likely isn’t even married with kids. Suddenly, a customer enters, Farisa and her mother. Ansar stares at Farisa because of her striking look. Not long after, Farisa puts her purchase on the cashier counter. Farisa picked the exact things Ghilan had, and this caught Ansar’s attention. He then looks up at Farisa, who is now putting her sling bag on the counter and spilling its contents. Farisa gathers her money, which was spilled out of her bag along with other items, and she begins slowly counting while her mother seems to be too consumed with her phone call to help her daughter.
Ansar then snoops at the other items sprawled across his counter. He sees a family picture of Farisa and the father is clearly not Ghilan. He also sees an identification card made specifically for people with disabilities and he sees that Farisa is listed as a woman with ID. The last thing that Ansar peeked was a graduation photo of Farisa from a school for people with disabilities. In that picture is Farisa, her friends and teachers, along with a man whose face is covered with a sticker. The man’s arm, though, is branded with a snake tattoo.
Picture 3. Scene 2 Storyboard
The second scene transitions to the third scene with Ansar pondering as his curiosity grows. His train of thought was disrupted when Farisa’s mother entered the minimarket.
A pregnancy test pack was then placed on the counter and Ansar is immediately taken aback, but he tries not to show it.
Picture 4. Scene 3 Storyboard
The third scene then transitions to the fourth scene by changing the pregnancy test pack in Ansar’s hand to a pack of cigarettes. The audience sees that Ghilan is the person purchasing the pack of cigarettes. Ansar sees Ghilan sitting outside, smoking, and looking at his phone, seemingly entranced. He asks his friend to cover for him and makes an excuse to go sweep the floor. Ansar picks a spot right behind Ghilan to peek at his phone, and much to his horror, he sees photographs of Farisa in a very sexual and uncomfortable setting. She was even choked in one picture, by an arm with a familiar snake tattoo.
Ghilan almost catches Ansar snooping, but something on his phone seem to immediately catch his attention. He rushes back into the minimarket and purchases a bottle of soda, a bottle of herbal drink often used to help with menstruation, and a box of cut pineapples. Three things that some believe have the ability to induce miscarriage.
Picture 5. Scene 4 Storyboard
In the fifth scene, Ansar is contemplating on calling the police. The audience watches as he talks about it with a friend, who discourages him by telling him that it’s not his responsibility, it’s out of line to intervene, and victims often experience even more trauma through legal processes. Defeated, Ansar’s head drops. The audience then watches a text-only shot explaining the background of this issue. After that, the audience receives an instruction on the organizations they can contact when they witness or suspect that an act of GBV has occurred to a woman with ID. The shot ends with a reminder that women with ID still needs advocation for better inclusive services. The audience then sees Ansar contacting one of the organizations mentioned.
Picture 6. Scene 5 Storyboard
The sixth and last scene opens with Ansar reading the news of Ghilan’s arrest. While on his phone, he notices someone about to enter the minimarket, Farisa. Farisa also notices him and they smile to each other, ending this animation on a positive note.
Picture 7. Scene 6 Storyboard
5. Conclusion and Recommendations
The concept for an animation that would best represent the issue of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) against women with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) for the purpose of socialization is brief in duration, able to acquire and maintain engagement, and allied by a strong message. It is recommended to publish this animation on YouTube and promote it on Instagram and TikTok. On Instagram, educational contents regarding this issue can be posted to spread knowledge towards the general public. Research findings should also
be brought to policy makers’ attention. After all, this issue is still far from resolution and this design is only meant to start the conversation and raise awareness. More steps need to be taken to successfully deliver justice for women with ID in Indonesia.
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