In recent years, Australia has witnessed a quiet but significant shift in the story of HIV. While overall notifications have declined, cases among people born overseas have steadily risen. Behind these numbers lie stories of migration, identity and resilience. This shift also signals the need for new ways forward, approaches that are culturally responsive and community led.
This is the story of Srikandi: inspired by the warrior woman of Javanese folklore, remembered for her courage and compassion, and reimagined here as a collective of Indonesian women in Australia who are redefining what HIV prevention looks like. Just as Srikandi fought with both strength and grace, this project demonstrates how lived experience, cultural knowledge, and solidarity can become powerful tools for change.
Shifting Stories of HIV
Over the past decade, HIV notifications in Australia have increased among people born overseas, particularly from Northeast and Southeast Asia, reflecting both rising migration and systemic inequities in health access. Migrants in Australia face stigma, discrimination, and gendered power dynamics that heighten their vulnerability to poor sexual health. Structural factors such as gender and power inequalities, the failure of the Australian healthcare system to adequately meet the needs of people born overseas, broader legal and social constraints, and the insecurity of non-permanent employment and visa status on individuals and their families all contribute. Frequent travel between Australia and countries of origin, where HIV prevalence and prevention efforts vary, adds complexity.
Data from the Kirby Institute shows that women from Southeast Asia are disproportionately affected, with data showing nearly two-thirds (63%) are diagnosed late, compared with less than one-third (29%) of Australian-born women. Late diagnosis not only worsens health outcomes but also increases transmission risks and healthcare costs. In WA, HIV notifications rose from 68 in 2023 to 77 in 2024, with the highest numbers among people born in Southeast Asia. Between 2014 and 2023, notifications among people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) backgrounds grew from 28% to 51% of all cases, with 40% diagnosed late. More than half of those reporting heterosexual exposure were diagnosed late in 2023.
The use of the term ‘CaLD’ itself has limitations. It assumes homogeneity across diverse cultural groups, defines communities by what they lack (such as English fluency or cultural sameness), and implies a hierarchy between people of Anglo-Celtic background and everyone else. However, this remains the framework through which data is currently collected and interpreted in research, policy, and practice.
Importantly, the data and current framing of CaLD highlight the systemic inequities that place migrant communities at greater risk and highlight service gaps. As the demographics of HIV shift, prevention strategies must evolve too.
The Beginning of Srikandi
While much existing research and programming has focused on the barriers to HIV prevention and care, far less attention has been given to enabling factors. Programs that concentrate only on deficits risk reinforcing stigma and overlooking the resilience and leadership potential that already exist within communities. And thus, this project began as PhD research by Dr. Corie Gray (Curtin University), who set out to co-design an intervention with Indonesian-born women to increase HIV testing using a participatory action research (PAR) methodology. PAR emphasises action: collecting and analysing data with a view to creating change. It challenges traditional research hierarchies by promoting equal decision-making between participants and researchers. Rooted in principles of social justice, PAR draws on concepts of community-building and empowerment, making it particularly well suited for work with communities that are often marginalised in mainstream health systems.
Although the initial aim was to increase HIV testing, the research process was guided by the voices of women themselves and resulted in a different direction. From the very beginning, Indonesian women were actively involved as community researchers, refining the research objectives, planning and conducting data collection, analysing results, and reporting findings back to their communities. It was these women who chose to name the project Srikandi.
In Javanese folklore, Srikandi is a warrior woman, remembered for her courage and skill in battle. In modern Indonesia, she has become a symbol of women’s emancipation, frequently invoked in discussions about women’s rights. To the women, naming the project Srikandi signified that this work was not just about HIV. It was about their rights and their voices shaping the issues that affect them.
Building a collective voice
Over the next five years, 60 women took part, contributing more than 591 hours of community time. Through their involvement, they articulated what mattered most to them: a project that recognised their own strengths and assets, was exclusively for Indonesian women, had a broader focus than HIV alone, and was led by the community itself. From this shared vision emerged the collective agreement that what was truly needed was not only research, but a community-led action group.
In early 2024, Dr Gray, a Srikandi member, and I began developing a framework for an HIV education session followed by a priority-setting workshop. Our goal was simple but ambitious: to identify key areas for action, explore potential partnerships, and create strategies to bring more women into the group.
The resulting workshop itself was vibrant and warm. The women brought homemade food, conversations flowed in Bahasa, and at the end, each participant wrote a personal reflection. What they shared was powerful. They found the workshop valuable, the information important, and many said their attitudes toward HIV had shifted from fear and stigma to a more open, empathetic understanding. For several women, the highlight was simply connecting with others who shared their culture and experiences. The session was a clear success, drawing six new participants, including a staff member from the Indonesian Consulate.
From these conversations, new partnerships emerged with the Consulate, Indonesian student groups at local universities, and health services. The women spoke often about the need for HIV testing that felt welcoming and culturally safe. This feedback directly shaped our next steps: WAAC delivered a professional development session with a local Multicultural Women’s Health Service the following month, connecting the women to a trusted sexual health care provider.
Partnerships were identified with the Consulate, Indonesian student-run groups at universities, and local medical services. One particular focus for the women was where to access HIV testing that felt welcoming and culturally safe. This feedback directly shaped our next steps: WAAC delivered a professional development session with a local Multicultural Women’s Health Service the following month, connecting the women to a trusted sexual health care provider.
Later that year, we reconnected with the Consulate to co-create a community information session. While we had initially proposed focusing on sexual health, the Consulate asked us to contribute to a broader domestic violence awareness event. When we bought this back to the women, we learnt that conversations about sex and health are often inseparable from wider issues of gender and power. Women connect HIV not just to individual behaviours or morality, but to the complexities of relationships, social norms, and cultural expectations. This reinforced the lesson that sexual health cannot be addressed in isolation. Sexual health is shaped by the broader social conditions of women’s lives.
The session, held in June 2024, brought together around 30 people. WAAC spoke about HIV with five Srikandi members in the audience. Speaking at the Consulate demonstrated government recognition and lent credibility to the issue. Afterwards, over steaming plates of mi goreng, the women shared their reflections. Many left inspired to expand Srikandi’s scope to include domestic violence, recognising how deeply the issues intersect in their own lives.
Fast forward to 2025: we hosted a Srikandi meet-up at the Perth exhibition of Brent Allen’s HIV Unwrapped, where Corie’s research was transformed into a striking garment by designer Harlene Del Rosario at RMIT University. More than 20 women attended, including a representative from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce, who invited us to present at their International Women’s Day event in 2026. This was our largest meet-up yet, with new members recruited through Indonesian community Facebook groups and peer networks.
The garment itself is a powerful symbol of the project. The designer explained that it reflected a strengths-based, community-led approach to amplify the knowledge, networks, and cultural contributions of Indonesian women, fostering pride, leadership, and ownership of sexual health and wellbeing, while creating pathways for HIV testing and prevention.
The design carried deep meaning: layers of silk organza and sheer fabric symbolised the many layers of Indonesian women’s lives and how past experiences shape who they are today, resilient and empowered like Srikandi. Strips of fabric sewn together into a unified textile depicted the interconnectedness of the Indonesian and HIV communities working together. The oversized sleeves, which could also be worn as a scarf, and the cowl-hood signified comfort, safety, and protection. And stitched discreetly in purple sequins along one sleeve was the word Srikandi, a quiet but bold reminder of strength and identity.
Lessons from the Journey
Through this journey we have learned powerful lessons about what it takes to empower communities to drive change. The PAR approach of this project enabled genuine sharing and redistribution of power. Traditional methods risk tokenism when decision-making authority remains concentrated within institutions, funders, or researchers. In such cases, communities may be “given” power temporarily but lack lasting influence over governance, resources, or decisions. True co-design is about levelling the playing field and ensuring that power, resources, and knowledge are shared in ways that create more just and sustainable outcomes.
Secondly, this project takes a strengths-based approach, intentionally shifting the focus from deficits to empowerment. It recognises Indonesian women as cultural custodians and community connectors, who often taking on the roles of carers, knowledge-holders, and trusted communicators. At its core, the program invests directly in community capacity. By equipping the women with leadership, advocacy, and sexual health literacy skills. This enables peer-led mobilisation and ensures community voices remain central to WA’s HIV response. Importantly, the group’s focus extends beyond HIV. It provides a supportive space for women to connect, share experiences, and build confidence in making informed health choices.
The impact is already visible. One member who sustained a workplace injury and struggled to find stable employment was connected through the group to an injury lawyer, giving her access to services that would otherwise have been out of reach. Importantly, this demonstrates how addressing broader social determinants of health such as healthcare access, education, income, and housing directly influences health outcomes. Women have also shared that their involvement in the group has helped them build skills for employment and form new friendships in the melting pot of Australian society. This shifts the narrative from individual responsibility to systemic accountability, and reinforces the importance of holistic, community-led approaches.
Thirdly, a central insight from this work is the importance of prevention. HIV notifications need not rise before action is taken; delayed responses only deepen inequities. Embedding prevention as a priority offers one of the most powerful tools to reduce stigma and strengthen community resilience. The Srikandi group will continue and is expected to evolve by integrating principles of health and social wellbeing into its core.
A Personal Reflection
Srikandi was a journey for me to realise the strength of my own cultural identity. I may not have been born in Indonesia, but I am the daughter of an Indonesian woman, and the niece and aunty of so many others. My Bahasa may be broken, but my communication is carried through connection, shared stories, and the values that bind us together. This project showed me that identity is not measured only by language or birthplace, but by the relationships, culture, and spirit we carry forward. Like the warrior form the stories, Srikandi teaches us that women can lead with power and compassion at the same time and through this project shows us how lived experience and cultural knowledge are powerful tools for creating change.