Child-friendly schools are schools that can fulfill the children's rights outlined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, assistant deputy for children's health and education rights fulfillment at the ministry, Amurwani Dwi Lestariningsih, explained at a media talk here on Friday.
The convention states that every child has the right to receive proper nurturing and to be protected from violence, abuse, and neglect.
It also states that children must be protected from discriminatory behaviors and have access to a clean and comfortable place.
Lestariningsih added that children must also be provided with space to express their opinions and thoughts and choose their beliefs, including those related to religion and faith.
Furthermore, children must be provided with space to interact with their friends without exceptions raised by teachers, principals, and parents.
"Thus, the rights to get sufficiency, health, protection, and welfare are important. That is what is meant by a child-friendly school," she pointed out.
She emphasized that child-friendly schools must be created because, based on the Women and Children Protection Online Information System (SIMFONI PPA), as many as 594 reports of violence against children were recorded in schools, with the number of victims reaching 717.
The number of cases of violence against girls was found to be higher, and in each case, there was likely more than one victim.
Of the victims, 31.24 percent were in elementary school, 39.05 percent were in junior high school, and 22.04 percent were in high school.
As of December 2022, there were 65,877 child-friendly educational institutions spread across 344 districts and cities in 34 provinces. However, the number of such institutions that have been standardized has only reached 49.
Lestariningsih said that if child-friendly schools can be realized, schools will become comfortable places for children.
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Translator: Astrid Faidlatul, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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