Protection campaign to safeguard rights of the young
Protection campaign to safeguard rights of the young
By Rita A. Widiadana
JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto launches a child protection
campaign this morning in conjunction with National Children's Day
to battle physical and emotional mistreatment.
The ceremony will take place at Sasono Langgeng Budoyo Hall at
Taman Mini Indonesia Indah in East Jakarta.
Minister for Social Affairs Inten Soeweno said yesterday that
child welfare was an integral part of the country's development.
She was speaking at the launching of Progress of Nation, an
annual report by Unicef on international conditions of children.
"It is high time for the government and other related parties
to pay more serious attention to the protection of their
children," she said. "An intensive campaign must be implemented
in the next few months to enforce necessary laws and regulations
to help children achieve the most in their lives."
Studies are currently underway on formulating the campaign.
Inten said children were the nation's most valuable asset and
their protection should be guaranteed by law. Strategic measures
were needed to safeguard the young against physical exploitation,
emotional abuse, neglect and poverty.
Proposed laws include regulating child workers, children's
rights and juvenile courts.
Although Indonesia ratified the Convention on the Rights of
the Children (CRC) in 1990 and is in the process of translating
this commitment into action under the current Five-Year
Development Plan, Inten conceded that child protection remains
weak.
"There is still a lack of awareness among related government
agencies, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) as well as the
community on child protection efforts."
The minister named poverty as another obstacle to boosting
child welfare. "We cannot deny that Indonesia has been
experiencing substantial economic growth. Yet, problems of
children remain very serious."
The Unicef report stated that Indonesia's rapid and consistent
economic growth during the past quarter century and its
integration into the global economy has resulted in widespread
socioeconomic changes.
People living below the poverty line declined from 60 percent
in 1969 to 14 percent in l993. Poverty is defined as a monthly
income below Rp 27,413 in rural areas and Rp 38, 246 for urban
areas. Indonesia has also recorded significant declines in infant
mortality (145 per 1,000 live births in l967 to 58 in 1993) and
under-five mortality (from 218 per 1,000 live births to 78), and
national school enrollment of 94 percent.
Negative fall-out from these economic achievements includes
weakening of the extended family and community networks
manifested in vulnerable/marginalized groups like street children
and child laborers. Reports of child abuse and sexual
exploitation have been increasing in the last few years.
Bleak
Latest data from the Ministry of Social Affairs and the
National Statistics Bureau paints a bleak picture of the
condition of Indonesian children. About 2.1 million children aged
between 10 and 14 years are part of the country's workforce.
There are 50,000 street children and 270,000 young people are
involved in juvenile delinquency, such as drug abuse. About 60
percent of the 71,000 residents in prostitution rehabilitation
centers are young girls, who are at high risk for contracting the
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and other sexually transmitted
diseases.
The Indonesian government is cooperating with Unicef for the
1995-2000 period in the following programs;
1. Undertaking research on selected categories of children in
need of special protection, in order to improve quantitative and
qualitative data regarding the scale and nature of the problems.
2. Program strategy development leading to long-term
activities in street children and child labor, based on research
findings and recommendations from the above studies/surveys.
3. Intensive advocacy towards key policy makers, NGOs and
other influential figures on the protection and development
aspects of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
4. Legal reform and enforcement including juvenile justice,
child welfare and child labor.
5. Planned pilot projects on street and working children with
local government and NGOs in Bandung (West Java), Semarang
(Central Java) and Ujungpandang (South Sulawesi).
Progress of Nation finds the condition of Indonesian children
is generally improving, but health problems, particularly four
leading nutritional deficiencies, persist in varying rates. Low
rates of exclusive breastfeeding and inappropriate complementary
feeding practices are considered major obstacles to improving the
nutritional status of young children in Indonesia. The study is
expected to be the basis of future breakthrough in improvement of
young children.
Protein Energy Malnutrition (PEM) usually children under five
years and pregnant women. There has been a considerable decline
in severe cases among young children, but there is still 38
percent prevalence among children below five years.
Vitamin A deficiency, known by its medical name xerophthalmia
and formerly a widespread cause of infant blindness, has been
almost entirely eradicated since 1992. The current rate of
xerophthalmia prevalence is 0.3 percent among children under five
years.
Iodine deficiency has also shown a rapid decline following the
Universal Salt Iodation program begun seven years ago.
Nutritional anemia continues to be a problem for Indonesians
of all age groups, and more than half of pregnant women suffer
from the disorder. Nutritional anemia in general is often
overlooked and disregarded as a serious disorder because its
effects are not readily apparent.
But anemia impairs physical and mental growth of young
children and increases the risk of hemorrhage in pregnant
mothers, contributing significantly to risk of maternal
mortality.