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There have been several highly publicised cases of child abuse in Jakarta this year, including that of 12-year-old GT, who allegedly ran away from his home to escape his abusive mother, and 8-year-old AD, who was kicked out of his own home by his middle class parents. Their stories scandalized Indonesia, but they may just be the tip of the iceberg in a larger trend.
The director of Child Welfare at the Ministry of Social Affairs, Edie Suharto, said that the number of reported cases of child abuse in Indonesia has increased by more than 100% from 2013. He said the Child Protection Commission (KPAI) recorded 536 cases in 2013 which increased to 1366 cases in 2014.
However Edie said the increasing number of cases is not due to increasing levels of child abuse. In fact, he sees it as a good thing becase he believes it means more people are now willing to report abusers to the authorities.
“So many more crimes against children have been recorded by the KPAI, but it is not because more and more people are violent. It is because so many more people have dared to complain to the authorities. In previous eras, people were less concerned about the violence going on around them,” Edie said on Wednesday as quoted by Kabar24.
According to him, the increasing number of people reporting child abuse has proven very helpful to authorities in quickly investigating these crimes and protecting children.
“It should be society that spearheads the child protection system in Indonesia,” he said.
