Child Sale Case by Mother Serves as Alarm, Urges Protection from the Grassroots

Deputy Minister for Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), Veronica Tan, has responded to the rising cases of violence against children, including the tragic incident of a mother selling her own child. According to her, this phenomenon indicates that child protection approaches cannot be partial but must start from the root problems at the village level. In her statement, Veronica appreciates the courage of various parties to speak out over the past year. She also emphasised that the Ministry of PPPA, together with the Indonesian National Police, has established a special Directorate for Women’s Protection and a special Directorate for Human Trafficking. “Yesterday we launched it, the director is all women and female police officers. However, capacity building and how to integrate the Regional Technical Implementation Unit for Women’s and Children’s Protection (UPTD PPA) with existing human resources need to be improved,” she said, after attending the Bugis Merchant Meeting (PSBM) at Claro Hotel Makassar on Thursday (26/3). Veronica stressed that collaboration between the Regional Technical Implementation Unit for Women’s and Children’s Protection (UPTD PPA) and related directorates must continue to be strengthened. However, she assessed that the end of this problem is economic resilience and welfare at the family level. “We must return to the government programme, President Prabowo’s programme, how to bring the economy back to the village. This is what we are now collaborating on with the Ministry of Agriculture, how local potentials can be connected with investors and central government programmes so that this is sustainable,” she explained. Veronica Tan emphasised that integrated child protection must start from the village. Her side is intensifying efforts through Development Planning Deliberation (Musrenbang) so that the resulting programmes truly have a child and women’s protection perspective. “If we talk about integrated services for child protection alone, we cannot just rely on UPTD in the district. When a case has already occurred, then we run. It’s difficult,” she asserted. She encouraged village heads to have a perspective that families and women must be involved as subjects of development. Women, according to her, are many who become the backbone of the family, so they need to be facilitated with accurate data in Musrenbang. This aims to reduce stunting rates and empower women’s economy. Furthermore, Veronica Tan highlighted the root problems of domestic violence, including cases of parents harming or selling their own children. She identified that factors such as poverty, economic burdens, household quarrels, and low access to education are the main triggers. “We cannot look at them one by one. For example, in Batam yesterday there was an incident at school where children became victims of violence. In every region, this becomes our challenge that so many problems occur. What is the root? This is what we must connect from the President’s priority programmes, linking with our smallest unit in the village, so that we can accurately data and empower women as the spearhead,” she concluded. Anto, 40, reported his own wife, initialled MT, 38, along with his in-laws, on suspicion of selling four children, consisting of three of their biological children and one nephew.