Little Aresha Daycare Violence Case: An Alarm for Indonesia's Child Protection System
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The public has been shocked by reports of a police raid on a childcare facility or daycare called “Little Aresha” in Yogyakarta City, suspected of committing violence and neglect against children.
It turns out that Little Aresha daycare, which was raided by police on Friday (24/4/2026), did not hold a permit.
From the case presentation, the police have designated 13 individuals, from the leadership to the caregiving staff, as suspects for alleged assault on 53 children.
Cases of child violence occurring in daycares are not the first in Yogyakarta; previous tragic incidents have also occurred in Depok, West Java.
The owner of Wensen School Indonesia, Meita Irianty, has been designated as a suspect by the police for assaulting two victims, namely MK (2) and HW (9 months).
Data from the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) records that around 44 percent of daycares in Indonesia do not have permits or legal status, and only 30.7 percent have operational permits.
Amid this situation, the need for childcare services is actually high. The Ministry of PPPA states that around 75 percent of families in Indonesia require alternative childcare.
“From a governance perspective, around 20 percent of daycares do not have SOPs, and 66.7 percent of the managing human resources are not certified. Meanwhile, 12 percent have registration marks and 13.3 percent are legal entities,” said Minister of PPPA Arifah Fauzi in a written statement on Sunday (26/4/2026).
Not only the facilities, Arifah said, the recruitment process for caregivers is also not yet based on standards and still lacks specific training.
“This condition shows that the high need for daycare services is not matched by service quality that optimally guarantees the fulfilment of children’s rights,” she stated.
Based on this, the Minister of PPPA is encouraging the implementation of standardised childcare services through certification of Child-Friendly Nurseries (TARA), as regulated in Ministry of PPPA Regulation Number 4 of 2024.
In addition, Arifah is encouraging the implementation of a child protection code of ethics (child safeguarding) as an obligation for all human resources.
These provisions are aimed at protecting children from all forms of violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation, and other mistreatment, in line with the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.