The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2024–2025
MANTRA of Hope turned a survivor's private phrase into court-ready evidence in Indonesia
Nine in ten Indonesian sexual assault cases stall for lack of non-consent evidence; MANTRA of Hope records discreetly on a mantra word and won ADFEST Gold.
Harian Kompas · Dentsu Indonesia
The solution
Research into Harian Kompas's archives and consultations with criminal lawyers found that nine out of ten sexual assault cases in Indonesia remain unresolved because there is insufficient evidence proving non-consent. That gap discourages reporting and leaves survivors facing victim-blaming.
Dentsu Indonesia and Harian Kompas built MANTRA of Hope, an app where survivors set a private mantra phrase of their own choosing. Speaking the phrase activates discreet background recording; the audio is stored with unedited date, time and location metadata so a survivor can present credible, admissible evidence if they decide to report.
The campaign spread through podcasts, digital news and social media, rallying legal experts, activists and survivors to advocate adoption. It generated over 31 billion IDR in earned media value, more than 42 million impressions and over 1,000 app downloads.
MANTRA of Hope won Gold for Mobile Design and Silver for Technology at ADFEST 2025, plus two Silvers and three Bronzes at Citra Pariwara 2024, and was shortlisted at Spikes Asia in mobile brand-experience and media categories.
Why it worked
- It attacked the root cause — missing evidence — instead of asking for more reporting.
- The mantra framing gives survivors a private trigger that feels like their own, not a surveillance tool.
- Unedited metadata makes the recording credible where bare testimony was not.
- A major media group's platforms gave a legal tool the reach of a news campaign.
What can be applied
When justice demands evidence a survivor cannot obtain, build the evidence tool: turn a private ritual into a tamper-proof record instead of asking people to fight the burden alone.
Aftermath
The app's evidence model drew attention across the region: ADFEST 2025 gave it Gold and Silver, Citra Pariwara 2024 added five metals, and Spikes Asia shortlisted it in mobile and media categories. Harian Kompas continued to advocate for sexual-violence survivors, and the initiative became a reference for how media brands can turn reporting infrastructure into protective technology.
Sources
- Dentsu Indonesia and Harian Kompas empower sexual assault survivors with 'MANTRA of Hope'
- Harian Kompas and dentsu launch AI-powered tool for sexual assault survivors
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