Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Praises Bali for Fulfilling Administrative Rights of Neglected Children

Denpasar (ANTARA) – The Minister of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), Arifah Fauzi, has praised the collaboration between the Bali High Prosecutor’s Office and the Bali Provincial Government in fulfilling the administrative rights of neglected children.

“This is something beyond expectations; it turns out the prosecutor’s office has extraordinary empathy in handling neglected children. The resolution of several issues also depends on regional leadership, and I see that regional leaders in Bali are very committed,” she said.

In Denpasar on Tuesday, the PPPA Minister requested that the cooperation between the prosecutor’s office and the regional government in Bali be realised soon, because if all neglected children have valid population data, their care will become easier.

In addition, this project can eventually be implemented in other provinces in Indonesia, considering that not all regions have regional leaders who care and show commitment in handling neglected children.

This is because, so far, neglected children tend not to have a NIK (National Identity Number), which ultimately means they cannot access education, health, or social security services.

In addition, the NIK also serves to fulfil other citizenship rights as an Indonesian citizen; this number is important as an identity that can protect children from various forms of violence, abuse, and exploitation.

“Based on the available data, cases of sexual violence against children are the third highest after drug abuse in Bali, so this must be our common focus. Having a NIK is very important for every Indonesian child,” said Chatarina.

In addition to the children, having a NIK will also help the government ensure that all programmes and budgets are targeted effectively.

“Validating the NIK can prevent budget leaks and data manipulation that can lead to corruption. With the NIK, neglected children will be recorded in our population census,” said the Bali High Prosecutor.

The Governor of Bali, Wayan Koster, also expressed his commitment to handling neglected children by fulfilling their administrative rights.

According to him, 3,000 neglected children is not a small number, so after this, the Bali Provincial Government together with the district/city governments will immediately conduct data collection, especially at the lowest level, namely in traditional villages.

“We must take concrete action to follow up on this MoU. I, together with the mayors/regents throughout Bali, will immediately hold a coordination meeting on handling neglected children, create guidelines, continue to synergize at the regional level, and go down to the grassroots, based on villages and traditional villages, to find the neglected children in all areas,” said Koster.