Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) Lestari Moerdijat has urged all parties to maximize the implementation of the sexual violence prevention regulation at educational institutions to provide protection and a sense of safety to the nation's future generations.

"Sexual violence in the educational environment must be immediately ended through a measurable process and supported by all relevant parties," she said in a statement received here on Friday.

The Federation of Indonesian Teachers' Union (FSGI) recorded 22 cases of sexual violence with 202 student victims at educational institutions in the January–May 2023 period.

Half or 50 percent of the cases were reported at educational institutions operated under the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology and 36.36 percent at educational institutions operated under the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

The rest were recorded at informal educational institutions.

Moerdijat said realizing a safe and comfortable learning environment for students requires the active involvement of stakeholders in the education ecosystem.

She added that currently, Indonesia's education sector is confronted by three big problems, namely, bullying, sexual violence, and intolerance.

Teachers trained under the school-based anti-bullying program, Roots Program, must immediately play an active role and consistently share their knowledge with teaching staff and students, she said.

The program is a collaborative program between the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology and the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF).

Moreover, she said that 13,800 teachers have been trained as facilitators and 43,400 agents-of-change students produced via the program, with technical training provided at 7,400 educational institutions across Indonesia.

The MPR deputy speaker emphasized that the relevant parties must focus on efforts to prevent sexual violence in the educational environment to make it safe, comfortable, and fun.

"The aim is to make the national education system that we implement able to produce a generation that is of quality, is competitive, and has a strong character, in accordance with the mandate of our Constitution," she remarked.

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Translator: Putu Indah, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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