Child servants vulnerable to abuse<\/p>\n
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The government has paid no attention to the plight of child
\ndomestics, many of whom have fallen victim to sexual harassment
\nby their employers, activists say.<\/p>\n
Aris Merdeka Sirait, the secretary-general of the National
\nCommittee for Child Protection, said on Monday that child
\ndomestics, whose number now reached 1.8 million, had to cope with
\nsexual harassment and physical abuse at the hands of their
\nemployers due mainly to the absence of a legal basis for
\nprotecting them.<\/p>\n
According to the committee, at least 1.8 million Indonesian
\nchildren were working as servants across the country in 2000, up
\nfrom 1.5 million in 1999.<\/p>\n
The sharp increase was attributed to the current prolonged
\neconomic crisis.<\/p>\n
Many of these were young females, who were often abused both
\nsexually and physically.<\/p>\n
\"The level of abuse against child domestics is now out of
\ncontrol and must be stopped. We would therefore urge local
\ngovernments to at least issue by-laws to protect these children,\"
\nAris told The Jakarta Post on Monday.<\/p>\n
\"Their employers can do whatever they want to the child
\nservants as the children aren't aware of their rights,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Aris was commenting on a study presented at the ongoing Manila
\nForum on Child Domestic Workers in Asia, which showed that more
\nand more children in Asia, including Indonesia, worked as
\nservants amid rapid modernization and widespread poverty.<\/p>\n
It also highlighted that abuse was more rampant and more
\nhidden than ever among Asia's child servants.<\/p>\n
\"Asia is home to more than 60 percent of working children
\nworldwide,\" the study said.<\/p>\n
\"Child labor has increased. Abuses are more rampant and more
\nhidden nowadays,\" it continued.<\/p>\n
By-laws to protect child domestics should cover important
\nissues such as limits on working hours and a guarantee that child
\nservants would be educated.<\/p>\n
The House of Representatives (DPR) is currently deliberating a
\nbill on child protection. The bill stipulates, among other
\nthings, that anyone found guilty of exploiting children
\neconomically or sexually would be liable to up to ten-years
\nimprisonment or a fine of Rp 200 million (US$22,000).<\/p>\n
The bill, expected to serve as a reference for protecting
\nchild servants, was originally scheduled for endorsement by the
\nDPR earlier this month, but was put back due to unresolved issues
\ninvolving the article on adoption of children.<\/p>\n
Pandji Putranto, the national program manager for the
\nInternational Labor Organization's International Program for the
\nElimination of Child Labor, agreed with Aris that regional
\ngovernments must issue rulings to protect child servants.<\/p>\n
He also said that the poor conditions of child servants could
\nbe resolved by starting to bring the servant issue into the
\npublic domain rather than keeping it hidden in the private
\ndomain.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/child-servants-vulnerable-to-abuse-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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