CHILD PROTECTION IN INDONESIA NEEDS TO BE IMPROVED By Fardah

    Jakarta, July 24. 2015 (Antara) -- Since 1986, the Indonesian government has commemorated National Children's Day on July 23, to strengthen their commitment to fulfill their rights, particularly with regard to their protection.

        However, the government has yet to organize a national event to celebrate Children's Day this year.

         A possible reason for this could be that there was not much good to celebrate this year, with the media having reported several cases of child abuse, maltreatment and even murder.

         The most tragic news was regarding the murder of 8-year-old Angeline, who was allegedly killed by her foster mother, identified as M, in Denpasar, Bali, in May.

        Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Yohana Yembise said she appreciated the Bali police for investigating the case of murder thoroughly, adding that all mothers should be responsible for the protection of their children.

         She also expressed hope that the harshest possible punishment is meted out to Angeline's killer. Her body had been found buried in the backyard of M's house.

         According to data of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), cases of child abuse have continued to rise since 2011. That year, there were 2,178 reported cases of violence against children, whereas in 2014, the number more than doubled to 5,066.

        Despite the absence of an official celebration, Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa emphasized that National Children's Day should serve to boost comprehensive rectification and streamlining of the implementation of child protection in the country.

        "Why should it be corrected comprehensively? Because everybody must be involved, particularly parents," the minister stated in Jakarta on July 23.          
   Indonesia's laws on child protection are quite progressive, she added, but law enforcement is still weak.

        The existing laws on the subject stipulate that child protection should be carried out by the community and families, particularly by parents.

        According to Parawansa, parents are responsible for rearing, educating, and guiding their children. They must protect them socially, psychologically, spiritually, and intellectually.

        "Nowadays, many parents believe that children can grow naturally and that there is no need for the processes of parenting and rearing. They believe they only need to take them to school. We can count the number of hours children stay in school and how many hours they spend at home with either their parents or someone else," she remarked.

        Children spend less time at school than at home. Therefore, relying on the school alone would be wrong. The onus still lies with the parents first and then with other institutions, including the local administration, she noted.

        Schools should be actively involved in the process of honing the skills of their students, as teachers have only focused on the transfer of knowledge so far, often overlooking the need to guide them on appropriate conduct.

        Moreover, Chairman of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas PA) Aris Merdeka Sirait expressed disappointment over the government not commemorating National Children's Day.

        "I am disappointed because the rate of violence against children in Indonesia is very high. In fact, several of our teens have been sold overseas and mistreated in other countries," he informed the press on the sidelines of a workshop on child protection in Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, on July 23.

        National Children's Day is observed to remind the nation to fulfill the rights of children, he added, expressing hurt over the government not organizing an event to commemorate the day.

        "Indonesian children do not need to face a delay in celebrating National Children's Day. They need to be greeted by our officials, and the government needs to provide them protection," he stressed.

        The workshop was organized by authorities of East Nusa Tenggara to commemorate the day. "I traveled a long distance from Jakarta to attend the celebrations here," he remarked.

        East Nusa Tenggara ranks fifth among the top ten provinces with cases of violence against children.

        Furthermore, Commissioner of the KPAI Susanto is of the view that not all regulations, including regional ones, support child protection.

        "Take the regulation on the right of children to have birth certificates, for instance. According to law number 35/2014 on child protection, children have the right to a birth certificate free of cost. However, several regional regulations stipulate a certain amount to be charged for birth certificates to be issued," Susanto said.

        Besides, there is no common perception regarding the protection of children, he noted, adding, "As a consequence, there are numerous conflicts related to child protection."
   Susanto further noted that child protection was not yet integrated into regulations on education. Even though educational institutes must be free from violence, in reality, corporal punishment is still prevalent in schools, he stated.

        In addition, as child rearing is also an issue, the common occurrence of domestic violence against children is a result of economic, social, communication and cultural factors, he pointed out.

        According to Susanto, the public's commitment to protecting children is also weak, which affects the quality of efforts towards child protection.

        Earlier, the KPAI had met with Vice President Jusuf Kalla to discuss the settlement of child protection cases.

        "We discussed several issues, including ways to ensure the state's support to deal with such cases and to prevent their recurrence," Chairman of the KPAI Asrorun Ni'am Sholeh affirmed on June 30.

        At the meeting, the vice president underscored the importance of public participation in the settlement of child protection cases, which is not solely the government's responsibility.

        "The KPAI also conveyed data regarding the complaints lodged through it, most of which were related to childcare. Therefore, progressive steps need to be taken," he emphasized.

    ***4***
(F001/INE)
24-07-2015 22:25:54