Central Java Provincial Government Intensively Supports Female Students Victims of Violence in Pati

Semarang (ANTARA) - The Central Java Provincial Government is ensuring that female students suspected of being victims of sexual violence by the caregiver at the Ndolo Kusumo Islamic Boarding School in Pati receive intensive support. Central Java Deputy Governor Taj Yasin Maimoen, in Semarang on Thursday, reaffirmed his commitment to seeing through the case of sexual violence involving an individual identified by the initials AS at the Pati Regency boarding school. “We hope not only to oversee the case, but something more important is the female students who are the victims, as they are still children, still of school age,” he said. According to him, the children who are victims of sexual violence need support so that they do not become despondent, traumatised, and ultimately drop out of school. “We must ensure they remain brave enough to go to school. This is the most important thing because their future is still long,” said Gus Yasin, his familiar nickname. He stated that support for the victims is currently being carried out continuously by the Education Office, Health Office, and the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Office (DP3A). The aim is for the children who are victims of sexual violence to still have access to education, have their health conditions monitored, and feel protected. For orphaned children or those from impoverished families who make up the majority of the students at the boarding school, he said that his side is committed to helping them attend school for free. He greatly appreciated the courage of the victims and the support from community elements, as well as organisations like Nahdlatul Ulama (NU), which have worked together to bring the facts to the public. As a preventive effort, he said, the Central Java Provincial Government is currently optimising the Kecamatan Berdaya programme as the frontline for protecting vulnerable residents. “This programme focuses on empowerment and legal support for children, women, the elderly, and people with disabilities,” he said. In fact, he added, the Central Java Provincial Government has partnered with NU and Muhammadiyah through their affiliated organisations, namely Fatayat, Muslimat, and Aisyiyah, for paralegal training in 35 regencies/cities. Not only in boarding schools, he said that these preventive steps also target public schools, one of which is through early health detection schemes. For supervision in boarding school environments, the Central Java Provincial Government is also collaborating extensively with Rabithah Ma’ahid al-Islamiyah (RMI) through the Tilik Pesantren programme. This programme routinely educates boarding school caregivers on addressing violence against women and children.