Govt moves to improve protection of children
Govt moves to improve protection of children
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Long criticized for a lack of attention to the widespread
abuse of women and children -- perhaps the nation's most precious
resource -- the government promised on Monday to correct this
appalling situation.
With assistance from international non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) as well as the government of the U.S., the
government plans to address some critical problems and increase
funds.
"The programs which will start next year will aim to ensure
that children's rights are better protected," Sumarni Dawam
Rahardjo, Deputy for Child Protection and Welfare, at the office
of the Ministry of Women's Empowerment told The Jakarta Post.
So far the NGOs have been at the forefront of the fight
against abuses of women and children, and now that there is extra
funding, from foreigners, the government seems to have taken the
issue seriously.
The government revealed the plan less than a week after the
National Commission for Child Protection (KPA) revealed in its
year-end report the critical situation of widespread child abuse.
The Ministry of Women's Empowerment plans to utilize such
reports as an impetus to increase its budget. Next year, Sumarni
said, her office expects to be handsomely rewarded with Rp 4
billion (US$400,000) due to the publicized abuse of the nation's
children, which will be a significant raise from this year's Rp 1
billion.
She said that her office will later begin helping regions to
design programs for children's rights according to local needs.
With support from the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID), her office is developing a program to tackle
child trafficking in 12 provinces for the next two years. Some of
the provinces are West Kalimantan, Riau, Jakarta, East Java and
North Sumatra.
On child labor, Sumarni admitted her office could not do much
but urge the Ministry of Manpower to take firm measures against
perpetrators.
The office means to boost cooperation with the Directorate
General for Informal Education, Youth and Sports at the Ministry
of Education to provide education for dropout children and child
laborers.
The plans received qualified praise from Seto Mulyadi, KPA's
chairman, but added that the government should see to it that the
project should truly be effective in serving children's interests
and not "just another project" riddled with corruption, collusion
and nepotism.
He advised the government to include all stakeholders,
including the KPA, the NGOs and USAID who are focusing on
children that need special protection such as kids in refugee
camps, workplaces and in conflict areas.
"Don't let the issue become a mere public discourse without
concrete results," he remarked.
He also urged the government to be more transparent and
accountable to the public about how it uses the funds.