"The government must be present to protect women and children," the head of Buol District, Amirudin Rauf, said in Buol on Sunday.
Rauf said that women and children were a part of society which were entitled to protection from all forms of violence in their daily lives.
"Women and children are sometimes classified as a second-class citizens in the community, which (caused them to be) prone to (experience) violence," he said.
Thus the classification must be removed by prioritizing equality or equity of rights. Development must be gender responsive, he said.
"Therefore, this must be an evaluation of the women's and children's (protection progress), so that it focuses on economic empowerment of the vulnerable groups as mentioned before," he added.
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Violence against women and children was a disaster in social life, which must be terminated by everyone, Rauf said. It tends to be rooted from economic factor, he said.
"Economic factors are one of the causes of domestic violence, so the solution is that women's economic empowerment must be increased," he opined.
One of the methods to prevent violence against women and children was to lift the empower the group financially or economically, thereby removing them from poverty.
"Economic empowerment will give hope for the future of vulnerable groups. It will give them a job and be independent without being economically dependent on the head of the household," he commented.
"Therefore, the solution is really on target, to prevent cases from recurring, causality approach is very important. Handling child violence across sectors is important in preventing efforts through coaching, empowerment, and economic assistance. Other factors behind violence against vulnerable groups are also related to the weakening religious values in daily lives," Rauf stated.
He urged for a strategic means in preparing a planned and systematic work agenda, involving cross-sectors, particularly policy makers.
Related news: Violence against women up two-fold compared to 2020: commission
Translator: M Hajiji, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
Copyright © ANTARA 2021
