"Us from the West Kalimantan Women and Children’s Protection Commission have noted that cases of violence against children in the province in 2021 decreased by 50 percent compared to the year before," head of the commission, Eka Nurhayati, said in Pontianak on Friday.
In the past three years, cases of violence against children have continued to decline: in 2020, there were 384 cases; in 2021, their number decreased to 294; and in September 2022, the figure further fell to 162, she informed.
Based on the commission’s data, in 2022, the province recorded 162 cases of violence against children, with 98 cases involving children in conflict with the law, 25 cases involving families and alternative caregivers, 4 cases involving education, 11 cases involving trafficking and exploitation, as well as 24 cases involving civil rights and participation, she elaborated.
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered some of the 384 cases of violence recorded against children in 2020, she said.
"The effects of COVID-19 that occurred in 2020 profoundly impacted people's lives as well as children; for example, some parents forbade their children from going out, and some were even forced to lock their children (to prevent them) from leaving the house," she added.
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Some of the children felt uncomfortable, they even got no support from parents, which eventually led them to seek their own means of entertainment, to the point they joined the wrong circles, she said.
Sexual crimes such as online prostitution involving minors also increased in West Kalimantan, and everyone needs to be made aware of this, Nurhayati added.
The issue also contributed to the early marriage rate, she pointed out. On a national scale, West Kalimantan was one of the provinces with a high early marriage rate.
Other factors that triggered violence against children included family economic problems, not-so-harmonious relationships between parents, culture, environment, technological developments, and lack of parental attention toward children.
To minimize cases involving crimes or violence against children, the regional commission is constantly educating people, and the efforts have included students from several faculties related to this field.
"For this reason, we hope that parents can pay attention to their children, and prevent acts of violence in the family," she said.
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Translator: Rendra Oxtora, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Suharto
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