Nurul Maidatul Janah, 30, had always been curious about entering in different competitions after her colleagues in PT Sumber Bintang Rejeki won photo, video and blog competitions organized by Better Work Indonesia (BWI) in previous years. Yet so far, she had never participated.

Early in 2022, a poster and social media post design competition focusing on eliminating violence and harassment at work was announced. Nurul decided to step out of her comfort zone and enter the competition. She was encouraged by her co-worker and together they formed a team to represent the factory where they work. Better Work Indonesia and Clevio, a coding training company, with the support of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), co-hosted the competition to promote efforts to maintain a safe work environment and support the ratification of ILO Convention C190 to eliminate violence and harassment in the world of work.

The competition was designed to complement Better Work Indonesia’s Respectful Workplace Program (RWP) that aims to build a respectful work culture safe from all forms of harassment. This goal is achieved via a “Training of Trainers” style course in which factory participants are trained to become a “Respect Team” representative, who will in turn train employees, spread awareness, and conduct campaigns.

To be eligible for the competition, contestants like Nurul and Fina were required to submit a design sketch alongside a video or paragraph on the importance of eliminating violence and harassment in the workplace. There were two categories in the competition: the poster design and social media post design. The winners of each category were selected by a panel of judges and through the highest number of engagements on social media, with a chance to win cash prizes, Canva premium accounts, and gift certificates.

Eventually, Nurul and Fina’s team was shortlisted to join online workshops on harassment and violence prevention at work, as well as undergo basic graphic design training via the design application Canva.

“I had no background in graphic design,” Nurul admitted, “but it was good to join the competition, because we were able to learn together.” Meanwhile, Fina was inspired by the competition’s theme and interested in learning more about ending harassment and violence at work.

After the training, Fina and Nurul designed a poster with the headline “STOP! Sexual Harassment at Work” in Bahasa Indonesia, followed by a chart detailing various sexual harassment types. It also features acronyms “JARUM” (needle) and “JAHIT” (sewing) to help people remember the steps to become an agent of change to stop sexual harassment at work.

What started out as a curious venture for Fina and Nurul ultimately became an exciting achievement. In April of 2022, they discovered their poster had won first prize in the poster design competition.

“When I heard the announcement, I screamed in joy. It surprised the whole office – someone came into the room and asked ‘What happened? What happened?’,” Fina recounted with a laugh.

Fina and Nurul were not the only ones rejoicing in their victory. Siti Handriyani Yunita and her partner Indah Dwi Madina from PT Leetex Garment Indonesia said they both didn’t expect to win the competition when they first submitted their video audition. They said they also shouted with excitement when they were won the favourite for social media post design category.

Indah said her team held a “roadshow” where they asked their colleagues during briefings and lunch breaks to give a like and comment on their posters on social media. They also encouraged their family and relatives to participate online.

“If the worker is aware that sexual violence and harassment is something that should not happen, the productivity will increase. Workers would feel safe and protected, which eventually will contribute to a more harmonious work environment.” Indah added. With workers contributing to designing creative and effective messaging, this improved work environment comes closer to being the everyday reality.