Govt, public responsible for rampant child abuse

JAKARTA (JP): Activists blasted the government and the general public alike yesterday for their poor attitude toward the nation's children, as indicated by the absence of a comprehensive law to protect their rights.

Indonesia ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1990, but this has failed to prevent the rapid growth in numbers of child prostitutes, working children and children living on the streets.

Chairperson of the Indonesian Child Welfare Foundation (YKAI) Lily Rilantono criticized the community for failing to recognize the urgency of problems such as domestic abuse and the exploitation of underage labor.

She also drew attention to the growing number of people living in poverty and said this posed a further threat to child welfare.

"The number (of children living in poverty) has risen and we can't just sit here and do nothing," she said in a meeting to discuss a preliminary draft of a child protection law prepared by the foundation. The document was drafted by a team of six legal experts and will be discussed further in a seminar on Aug. 12-13. The document will then be refined and submitted to the House of Representatives.

The foundation expressed hope that the House, the Ministry of Justice and the office of the Coordinating Minister for People's Welfare would then turn the document into a law.

Lily cited examples of how the community was ignoring many problems concerning children. Never in big cities did neighbors intervene to protect children who were the victims of domestic abuse, she said.

"It's a matter of ethics, morality and culture ... many of us have stopped using our time and resources to think about others," Lily said.

However, Bambang Sulistomo from the Institute of Socio- Political and National Defense Studies said the public needed guidance before being incited to take action.

"That's why it's important that we draft a child protection law," he said, adding that the government should also work to disseminate the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to the general public.

Late last month, an 18-month-old boy died at Harapan Bunda Hospital in Pasar Rebo, East Jakarta, from a severe infection resulting from being repeatedly sodomized. (emf)