A recent spate of arrests of child sex abusers in Indonesia has an advocacy group concerned that the sexual exploitation of children is on the rise.
More than 250 children have been victimized in at least 200 sexual abuse cases so far this year, according to the chairman of the National Commission for the Protection of Children.
"The number of the cases is high because the law on child protection is weak in relation to punishment given to perpetrators," Arist Merdeka Sirait told ucanews.com on Wednesday.
Current guidelines call for sentences of three to 15 years for those convicted of abusing children.
"This is a national disaster. We must say this is a state of emergency ... children are in dire need of protection," he said.
The latest case involved a West Java food vendor, who was arrested on Sunday for molesting nine children who attended an elementary school near his Sumedang district food stall.
In Sukabumi district, also in West Java, a 24 year-old factory worker was arrested on May 2 for allegedly sodomizing at least 110 children.
In April, five suspects who worked at the Jakarta International School were arrested and charged with molesting a six-year-old student.
Sirait said the commission has sent a team to Sukabumi district to visit the victims and their families to offer assistance.
On May 5, Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar told reporters that the sexual abuse of children is occurring throughout the country.
"We believe that such incidents have occurred not only in Sukabumi but also in other regions that have not been revealed as yet," she said in a remark reported by the Antara news agency.
Data from the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection said that 256 children were victims of sexual abuses in 2012 and 378 children were victims in 2013.
Since more than 250 have been noted in the first 4 months of this year, by the end of the year there should be at least 750, or double the previous year. In fact, I suspect the number will exceed 1000. And that is likely to be a small percentage of the real number.
Indonesia needs prayer. Please join my 3:15 PM prayer group.
More than 250 children have been victimized in at least 200 sexual abuse cases so far this year, according to the chairman of the National Commission for the Protection of Children.
"The number of the cases is high because the law on child protection is weak in relation to punishment given to perpetrators," Arist Merdeka Sirait told ucanews.com on Wednesday.
Current guidelines call for sentences of three to 15 years for those convicted of abusing children.
"This is a national disaster. We must say this is a state of emergency ... children are in dire need of protection," he said.
The latest case involved a West Java food vendor, who was arrested on Sunday for molesting nine children who attended an elementary school near his Sumedang district food stall.
In Sukabumi district, also in West Java, a 24 year-old factory worker was arrested on May 2 for allegedly sodomizing at least 110 children.
In April, five suspects who worked at the Jakarta International School were arrested and charged with molesting a six-year-old student.
On May 5, Minister for Women Empowerment and Child Protection Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar told reporters that the sexual abuse of children is occurring throughout the country.
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| Linda Amalia Sari Gumelar |
Data from the Indonesian Commission for Child Protection said that 256 children were victims of sexual abuses in 2012 and 378 children were victims in 2013.
Since more than 250 have been noted in the first 4 months of this year, by the end of the year there should be at least 750, or double the previous year. In fact, I suspect the number will exceed 1000. And that is likely to be a small percentage of the real number.
Indonesia needs prayer. Please join my 3:15 PM prayer group.
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