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Stronger efforts key to improving child protection
Child abuse remains an issue in the capital, raising questions about the efforts of the Jakarta administration to prevent such cases, activists have said
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span>Child abuse remains an issue in the capital, raising questions about the efforts of the Jakarta administration to prevent such cases, activists have said.
West Jakarta Police arrested last week a 21-year-old mother on suspicion of torturing her 2-year-old to death. The suspect was said to have tried to cover up the crime, claiming that her child was sick and experiencing convulsions. The toddler died before arriving at the hospital.
Also last week, East Jakarta Police arrested a Quran tutor in Jatinegara, East Jakarta over accusations of molesting seven elementary school students.
Five out of the seven victims were reportedly traumatized and appeared frightened when they heard the tutor’s name.
Jakarta is home to 3.16 million children, about 30 percent of the city’s population.
The Jakarta administration aims to become a child-friendly city after unveiling its Child-Friendly City Grand Design 2018 to 2022 last year.
The Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry granted Jakarta's five municipalities and one regency the Child-Friendly City title.
A city needs to meet 24 requirements to be called child-friendly. The indicators are divided into five clusters, namely protection of civil rights, family or alternative fostering, basic health, education and special protection.
Although the Jakarta administration has carried out efforts to fulfill all the requirements, it must push harder to provide the best protection for children, rights activists have emphasized.
As of September, the city’s women and children empowerment service center recorded 439 victims in child abuse cases, consisting of 280 girls and 159 boys.
Last year, the service center recorded 910 victims, with 70 percent of the victims being girls.
The data said most abuse cases were sexual in nature, accounting for 224 out of 585 cases reported to the center as of September.
Other abuses cases included physical and psychological abuse at 21 and 17 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, other types of abuse cited were child neglect and trafficking. Some of the victims suffered more than one type of abuse.
Jakarta Child Protection and Empowerment and Population Control Agency head Tuty Kusumawati said the administration would do its best to prevent child abuse and ensure that victims received proper treatment.
To prevent such incidents, Tuty said the administration had placed stickers and posters in strategic locations, such as at bus stations and schools, to raise awareness and encourage people to get involved in providing a safe environment for the city’s youth.
Aside from preventative efforts, the Jakarta administration has teamed up with the Jakarta Police to establish emergency call service 112 for anyone who requires assistance.
The city also provides complaint posts, an app called Jakarta Aman and safe houses for women and children and women who are victims of violence.
Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) commissioner Retno Listyarti suggested that the city administration disseminate information about the Children Protection Law.
“Even the fact that a city has received child-friendly status, it does not indicate that no child abuse occurs. The city needs to better utilize its complaint systems, rehabilitation centers and assist victims,” she told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.
Tata Sudrajat from Save the Children emphasized the importance of encouraging victims or victims' relatives to report child abuse cases.
He said many cases had gone unreported because many believed that abuse cases disgraced families.
“Some others might simply not know how to report a case," he told the Post.
He said he regretted many abuse cases ended up with both parties settling out of court, which was a strong indication of why such cases were still rampant.
“Victims who have to suffer trauma for the rest of their life do not get adequate psychosocial assistance,” he said. “What worse is that the culprit is likely to repeat the crime.”
He also said that in a paternalistic society like in Indonesia, where older people were considered superior to the young, children might find it difficult to express themselves.
"We have work to do to make sure children feel respected and are treated like human beings,” he said.
