Videos and photos documented by police during the raid - which subsequently went viral on social media - revealed deeply distressing facts.
The footage showed children with their hands and feet bound, wearing only diapers. Some even suffered injuries.
Police also documented allegations of extreme neglect and inhumane treatment of the children, who were housed in three 3x3-meter rooms, with approximately 20 children per room.
A police investigation revealed a total of 103 children enrolled at the daycare, and at least 53 were suspected of being victims of physical abuse.
The majority of the victims were under 2 years old, with some as young as 0 to 3 months old.
The abuse is believed to have occurred since the daycare began operating about a year ago.
In the latest development, the Yogyakarta Police have named 13 suspects, including the head of the Little Aresha Foundation, the school principal and 11 caregivers. They were charged with multiple articles related to child protection, and faces up to eight years in prison.
This case reveals an equally shocking fact; 44 percent of daycares in Indonesia do not have a permit, according to data from the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA).
PPPA Minister Arifah Fauzi revealed that only 30.7 percent of daycares in Indonesia have an operational permit.
In terms of management, approximately 20 percent of daycares lack standard operating procedures (SOPs) and 66.7 percent of the human resources they manage are not certified.
She stated that the quality of daycare services is a major challenge, as the caregiver recruitment process is generally not standardized and there is minimal specialized training.
In fact, she continued, the need for daycare services is increasing rapidly, with approximately 75 percent of families in Indonesia using this alternative care.
Momentum for evaluation
As the State ensuring victims are protected and perpetrators are processed in accordance with the law, Minister Arifah called this case a momentum for a national evaluation to ensure all daycares meet service standards and child protection.
The ministry, along with local governments and stakeholders, has provided and will continue to provide psychosocial assistance to victims and their families, including comprehensive and sustainable recovery services.
She promised that the central and regional governments would strengthen regulations, licensing and supervision of daycare providers to prevent similar cases from recurring.
The government is also encouraging the implementation of standardized care services through the Child-Friendly Foster Care (TARA) certification, as stipulated in Ministerial Regulation No. 4 of 2024.
The TARA program regulates child-friendly daycare service standards, child rights-based care principles, referral and partnership networks as well as monitoring and evaluation systems.
Arifah emphasized that human resources are key to daycare management. Managers and caregivers must understand the concept of child rights-based care and possess adequate competencies.
Furthermore, the implementation of a code of ethics for child safeguarding is mandatory as a commitment of all human resources to protecting children from all kinds of violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation and other violations - in line with the principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
State responsibility
Highlighting a “tragic humanitarian issue”, Indonesian legislator said the case has exposed systemic failures in child supervision and protection within formal care institutions.
Selly Andriany Gantina, a member of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR), also criticized weaknesses in daycare licensing and oversight, warning against the commercialization of childcare without adequate safeguards.
To prevent recurrence, she urged a national audit of all daycare centers, covering legality, operational standards and caregiver competence.
She added that the incident should serve as a turning point for Indonesia to strengthen child safety through firm regulation and active government monitoring, rather than leaving protection to market forces.
Also responding to the case, DPR Speaker Puan Maharani emphasized the State’s obligation to ensure children's right to a safety, including in daycare facilities, which are increasingly needed by families in Indonesia due to the increasingly dynamic work schedules of parents.
A sense of security in childcare spaces should be the most basic guarantee provided by the State, she added.
Furthermore, she said, the existence of safe daycares is mandated by Law Number 4 of 2024 concerning Maternal and Child Welfare (MCH Law).
Puan believes the daycare violence case in Yogyakarta is a warning that the public's need for childcare services is growing far faster than the readiness of the protection system.
Because when parents entrust their children to daycare, she believes they are not only being entrusted with care time, but also with the full trust that the child will be in a humane, safe and appropriate environment for their growth and development.
However, when findings emerge that violate the basic principles of child protection, she believes the problem should not stop at a single criminal case.
This concerns the broader issue of standards for monitoring childcare facilities; are daycare facilities sufficient to meet the changing social needs of the community?
Puan also urged the government to treat daycare as part of a strategic child protection ecosystem, not just an additional service.
Given the case in Yogyakarta, she called the government to establish a stricter daycare monitoring and licensing system.
Child protection should not rely on the assumption that all care spaces are safe, but must be built on a system capable of detecting risks before violations occur, she emphasized.
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Editor: Primayanti
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