Legislator Calls For Strong Legal Protection For Children

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The legal umbrella for the protection of children should be reinforced in response to criticism so far that sanctions imposed on the offenders of child violence were too lenient, according to a legislator.

Chairman of Commission VIII of the House of Representatives (DPR) Saleh Partaonan Daulay affirmed here on Tuesday that the government should initiate the amendment of Law No. 23 of 2002 on Child Protection.

"We hope the government would initiate efforts to amend Law No. 23 of 2002 on Child Protection," Saleh noted in a short text message received by Antara here on Tuesday.

Saleh, who is a politician of the National Mandate Party (PAN), emphasized that the law must be upheld firmly.

The perpetrators of children violence must be punished based on the law in force. Before the law on child protection is revised, the existing legal umbrella must become the reference while taking firm action against offenders.

"In 2015, Commission VIII of the House received numerous proposals for the revision of the law on child protection," the lawmaker, who hails from the North Sumatra II constituency, remarked.

Saleh pointed out that violence against children was still rampant in society. Therefore, the government should take action and pay attention to several matters.

 Besides strengthening the legal umbrella and ensuring firm legal enforcement, ministries and institutions should also establish coordination as the handling of child violence could not be done partially.

"Coordination is important. It should not only be handled by the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) but other ministries, including the National Police, should also be involved in the process," he stated.

"Any parties finding or knowing cases of child violence should report it to the relevant agencies," he stressed.

He also called on the government to give priority to allocating budget for child protection. With adequate budget, the government could carry out several activities and programs in handling cases of child violation. (WDY)