Nana Rukmana, Cirebon – Thousands of street children in Cirebon are at risk of physical and sexual abuse and often subject to exploitation that forces them to become scavengers and beggars, says a child activist.
"Based on our observations, most of the street children in Cirebon are not protected from sexual abuse, including sodomy and molestation," said Nana Yohana of the Commission for the Protection of Indonesian Children's (KPAI) Cirebon office Thursday.
Some 2,000 abandoned children, she went on, lived on the city's streets, most of them denied an education because of dire financial circumstances. "That figure was recorded in 2006; the real figure is likely bigger now," Nana added.
The street children for the most part hail from the more impoverished areas around Cirebon, such as Krian village in Lemahwungkuk district, Kalijaga and Argasunya in Harjamukti district and Samadikun in Kejaksan district.
Nana said based on observations, almost half of street children had been subjected to sexual abuse.
She said the abuse against the children was often committed by adults, adding many cases of sexual violence occurred in urban areas but were not reported because the victims were in no position to do so and had no access to the relevant parties, such as the police or child protection agencies.
"Many of them are also ashamed to report the harsh treatment they suffer, while other institutions, including government agencies and the media, which should have guaranteed their rights, have instead shunned their responsibilities," Nana said.
"Sex crimes in Cirebon are the tip of the iceberg... There is much more going on than what we see on the surface."
She added street children were also subject to exploitation with economic motives.
"If you are in Cirebon, you see them everywhere; at virtually every traffic light, you see groups of street children begging or scavenging. They usually carry sacks on their backs and go from one housing complex to another searching for recyclables such as plastic, scrap metal and used bottles in garbage bins," Nana said.
She admitted the Cirebon KPAI was fighting an uphill battle in dealing with the situation. "We can't play an active role in tackling the problem because of the lack of funds and support from the local administration," she said.
The Cirebon KPAI receives annual funding from the municipality of Rp 25 million to deal with this problem.
Nana added the agency should ideally be given a budget of Rp 700 million per year if it really wanted to effect changes. A larger budget, she went on, was necessary for the KPAI's operations, public awareness campaigns, advocacy and rehabilitation.
"To make up for the shortage, KPAI members use their own money as part of their moral responsibility to protect the children," she said.
Ali Rahman, a member of the municipal council's Commission C, which oversees public welfare, expressed surprise at the amount of money allocated to the Cirebon KPAI.
He promised he would urge the government to allocate more funds next year. "We will ask the government to pay attention to this critical issue," he said. "How can the Cirebon KPAI be expected to play an effective role with so little money?"