Jakarta – The Jakarta administration and the Jakarta Police have signed an agreement on Thursday at City Hall to form a partnership to curb violence against women and children in the city.
The agreement involves the formation of an integrated team by the two bodies to prevent and handle violence against women and children. The coordination would allow for the exchange of information between the two bodies to ensure integration of action.
The agreement emerged in the face of an increasing number of reported cases of violence against women and children, with the Jakarta Integrated Care Center for the Empowerment of Women and Children (P2TP2A) recording 162 cases in November alone. In total, the center has recorded 1,672 such cases since January.
Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan said the rampant number of human trafficking cases in the city had also contributed to the high figure.
The deputy chief of the Jakarta Police, Brig. Gen. Wahyu Hadiningrat, acknowledged that the cases could be just the tip of the iceberg with the many going unreported and untouched.
"As an integrated service, victims would also be provided with psychologists," Wahyu said.
"We will also integrate the emergency number 112 with the police command center," the head of the Jakarta Child Protection and Empowerment and Population Control Agency, Tuty Kusumawati, added.
Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) commissioner Ai Maryati Solihah said women and children who were victims of human trafficking from outside the city were less likely to speak up.
"The police and administration should directly intervene in the working places of these human trafficking victims, which is a challenge to be overcome," she told The Jakarta Post on the sidelines of the event. (ars)