DPR Ensures Complaint Services in Schools to Prevent Violence

Commission X of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR) has directed every educational unit to ensure the availability of measurable protection mechanisms, including safe complaint services for victims, in an effort to prevent and handle cases of violence within school environments. “We are currently in a true state of emergency regarding violence in educational units. Therefore, this issue must be eradicated to its roots,” said Commission X Chair Hetifah Sjaifudian in Samarinda, East Kalimantan, on Monday. As the leader of Commission X, which oversees education, research, youth affairs, sports, tourism, arts, and culture, Hetifah is paying serious attention to creating safe learning spaces for students. The legislator representing the East Kalimantan electoral district stressed that educational institutions must absolutely have a layered protection system, ranging from strict supervision to the availability of complaint access that guarantees the safety and confidentiality of the victim’s identity. “There needs to be a task force that focuses on preventing and handling violence in educational settings,” Hetifah stated. She also encouraged the formation and strengthening of Anti-Violence Task Forces to prevent similar incidents from recurring. By optimising safe complaint services and forming these special task forces, she continued, educational institutions are expected to restore a guarantee of safety so that the teaching and learning process for students in the regions can proceed conducively.