KPAI Highlights Four Root Causes in Child Abuse Case at Yogyakarta Daycare

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The Indonesian Commission for Child Protection (KPAI) has highlighted four root causes in the case of child abuse at Little Aresha Daycare in Yogyakarta.

KPAI Deputy Chairman Jasra Putra stated that the commission strongly condemns the violence against 53 children at a daycare in Yogyakarta.

“The discovery of children with their hands and feet tied, and mouths stuffed with cloth to prevent crying, is a humanitarian tragedy that slaps the face of child protection in Indonesia,” Jasra said when contacted by Kompas.com on Monday (27/4/2026).

He explained that from the team’s inspection, KPAI has spotlighted four crucial interconnected root problems.

First, parents trapped in situations without options (Loss of Caregiving).

Jasra said that many parents entrusting their children to problematic daycares are not due to negligence, but due to a lack of alternatives.

He also noted that under economic pressures, the demands of life force husbands and wives to work, trapped in low-level incomes.

“At this point, children systematically ‘lose their right to proper caregiving’ from their parents, and the state has yet to provide solutions to this chain of poverty and work demands that are not family-friendly,” he stated.

Jasra added that by offering rates below Rp 2 million per month, the daycare cuts operational costs entirely, resulting in sacrifices to child safety and comfort.

“Substandard facilities (without AC, cramped rooms, poor air circulation), absence of CCTV, and child ratios exceeding capacity are real manifestations of how children are treated like commodities or items left in trust, not growing humans,” he said.

He further stated that referring to KPAI’s 2019 Research on Daycare/TPA Service Quality in 9 provinces, they found that caregiving staff are predominantly high school graduates or below who lack understanding of child psychology and development.

Additionally, there is no standardisation or certification for recruitment. Excessive workloads (overwork) with highly imbalanced caregiver-to-child ratios.