Jakarta – Pinching or slapping your child is not acceptable – and it's your responsibility to report others who do.
These messages make up part of the Stop Violence against Children Campaign launched in Jakarta on Monday by the State Ministry of Women's Empowerment and the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).
State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta Swasono said she was concerned about a culture of violence flourishing in Indonesia.
"The recent bullying case of high school students in one of the best schools in Indonesia is an example of how this culture of violence takes its toll," Meutia said.
"Children brought up in violence have a higher tendency to practice violence and pass on the culture," she said, referring to her own bullying experiences in the 1950s.
Meutia then called for more involvement from the public.
She asked that people stay alert to the possibility of violence against children in their neighborhood and to report any suspicious incidents to the authorities. Unicef Representative in Indonesia Gianfranco Rotigliano said, "Like in many other countries, violence against children in Indonesia remains a hidden and widespread phenomenon".
"It knows no boundaries, targeting children from any social, ethnic or religious background.
"As many as 40 million children below the age of 15 (from) around the world experience violence and neglect," Rotigliano said.
Indonesia ratified the International Convention on the Rights of Children in 1990, which was followed by the 2002 law on child protection and the 2004 law on domestic violence.
Also on Monday Unicef announced its findings on abuse against children in Indonesia, saying 80 percent of the violence here was carried out by a person the child knew well.
It found 80 percent of teachers practiced physical punishment or conducted verbal abuse against students.
The findings revealed pinching was the most widespread form of corporal punishment, according to most respondents in North Sumatra, Central Java and South Sulawesi.
Irwanto said, "It is sad that physical punishment for children is considered culturally acceptable".
"Of course, in every case of physical abuse, the child will be affected psychologically.
"We have to realize that not doing anything to save these children is just another type of violence (against) their rights."
Bella Diniyah Putri, 15, chairperson of Lampung's Children's Commission and a recipient of the Unicef-Government of Indonesia's Youth Leadership Award in 2005, also said Indonesian children were still experiencing "sexual abuse, forced marriages and violent treatment from caretakers".
The Children's Best Friend Representative, Alyssa Soebandono, said children experiencing violence or neglect by their parents should call the toll-free Children's Best Friend Line (Telepon Sahabat Anak – TESA) at 129, launched in November 2006.
At the campaign launch Meutia handed out awards to the Kalibata Police Post, the Social Protection House for Children (RSPA) in Bambu Apus and the TESA 129 call-center team for their contributions to child protection, especially in handling kidnapped children.
She said there was an urgent need to change parents' mindsets and to educate children. (lva)