East Kalimantan Government Uses PP to Curb Online Activities Triggering Child Trafficking
Samarinda (ANTARA) - The East Kalimantan Provincial Government is optimistic that through the implementation of the Government Regulation on the Governance of Electronic Systems in Child Protection, it will curb online activities that trigger Trafficking in Persons (TPPO) crimes against underage children in the province.
“The trend of online harassment cases is rampant, but with these provisions, it is hoped that related cases involving children in the digital environment can be suppressed and eliminated,” said the Head of the Regional Technical Implementation Unit for Women’s and Children’s Protection (UPT PPA) of East Kalimantan, Kholid Budhaeri, in Samarinda on Tuesday.
The East Kalimantan UPTD PPA revealed that the trend of TPPO targeting children has surged due to the prevalence of covert transactions through online media spaces.
“Most of the exploitation victims rescued and handled in the East Kalimantan region were actually brought in illegally from outside the area, with covert online communications,” Kholid explained.
According to him, the rapid access to online media allows exploitation crime transactions to occur anywhere without clear geographical boundaries.
As a response to this threat, PPA is intensifying various cross-sectoral measures to realise child-friendly zones. This includes coordinating with local governments and related agencies to increase child play spaces, child-friendly reading corners, and safe shelters.
“The vulnerable condition of the digital space for misuse directly makes children the group most easily trapped as exploitation victims,” said Kholid.
He exemplified the vulnerability of school dropouts from villages who migrate to Samarinda and Balikpapan, where many cases have been facilitated at shelters.
One prominent case handled by his agency was the discovery from a regional police operation at a cafe involving child exploitation as karaoke guides.
Kholid recounted experience in handling another cross-regional case uncovered through a joint operation in the supporting area of the Nusantara Capital City (IKN) that rescued four victims from Southeast Sulawesi.
“These criminals generally operate using online deception tactics by spreading job promises that are completely untrue,” Kholid revealed.