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notably through divorce and remarriage. The identification of children living on the streets as a specific group requiring attention can be traced back to the late 1990s, when the visibility of such
children increased, especially in Java and Sumatera.
339
The sudden increase in the number and visibility of children living on the streets has been linked with wider economic crises, both in
the late 1990s and in the late 2000s.
340
Once again, reliable data are scarce but the trend seems to be towards substantial increases in the number of children living on the streets in Indonesia.
Estimates gathered by the Ministry of Social Affairs put the number of children living on the streets at around 50,000 in the late 1990s
341
, and that number increased to 60,000-75,000 in 2004 and increased yet again to an estimated 230,000 in 2008.
342
The issue of children living on the streets is given very little consideration in the child protection related material published and produced by the GoI. In spite of the severity of the problem with
children living on the streets in Indonesia, the response of the GoI has been disappointing and lacking the leadership and substance that characterizes other child related interventions and
policies of the GoI.
343
As already noted elsewhere, the GOI approach to children living on the streets has shifted over the years from punitive approaches that criminalised children living on
the streets and considered them as delinquents, to recognizing that they constitute a vulnerable group requiring special protection.
However tensions remain and in practice the conversion from criminalizing children living on the streets to child protection remains incomplete. The relatively low priority and mixed attitudes
towards children living on the streets are still much in evidence in the current National Program for Children 2004-2015 PNBAI formulated in 2004: “Due to the difficult situations and conditions
they find themselves in, street children often resort to criminal activity and become integrally involved with the criminal elements of the city, which has an extensive impact on public security.”
According to a Save the Children report, initial approaches to children living on the streets in the late 1990s were consistently punitive ‘public security’ led interventions, mostly taking the form
of raids designed to clear the streets of ‘undesirables’, including children living on the streets.
344
These raids constitute arbitrary mass arrests and were often accompanied by violence, all of which directly contravenes basic human rights provisions. The shift towards child protection did
lead to a retreat from these abusive and punitive approaches and more appropriate responses were adopted.
In the late 1990s, the UNDP, NGOs and the GoI through the Ministry of Social Affairs collaborated in setting up a number of shelters and ‘safe houses’ designed to host and rehabilitate children
living on the streets.
345
In 2006, the Ministry of Social Affairs developed a network of social development centres for children.
346
Other initiatives have included setting up mobile schooling programmes to work towards fulfilling educational needs and the provision of vocational training
for children living on the streets who have dropped out of school.
347
Whilst these programmes
339 Ibid. 340 Ibid.; Dursin, K. 11 February 2010 Mobile classes offer hope to Indonesia’s street children, OneWorld South Asia: available at: http:
southasia.oneworld.netglobalheadlinesmobile-classes-offer-hope-to-indonesia2019s-street-children Last accessed 1 October 2010 341 UNICEF 2000 The situation of children 2000, p144
342 UNICEF 2000 The situation of children 2000, pp144-146; and Ministry of Social Affairs 2008 Government of Indonesia National Program for Children PNBAI 2004-2015, cited in: UNICEF 2010 Who are children without parental care?
, UNICEF: Jakarta, available at:
www.unicef.orgindonesiaUNICEF_Indonesia_Children_Without_Parental_Care_Fact_Sheet_-_June_2010.pdf, Last accessed 1 October 2010
343 Save the Children 2010 Review report Indonesia 344 Ibid.
345 UNICEF 2000 The situation of children 2000, pp144-146; and Save the Children 2010 Review report Indonesia 346 UNICEF, Save the Children and Ministry of Social Affairs 2007 Someone that matters: The quality of care in childcare institutions in
Indonesia , UNICEF: Jakarta, p29
347 Child Frontiers 2009 Child and family welfare services in Indonesia: An assessment of the system for prevention and response to abuse, violence and exploitation against children
, Child Frontiers: Jakarta, p59
and initiatives provide important services, it is notable that they are essentially reactive rather than preventative. Considering the recent trend towards rapid increase in the numbers of children
living on the streets, the paucity of responses and the weaknesses of the alternative care system, the setting up of preventive measures and programmes ought to be amongst the priorities of the
GoI. More worrying still, the Save the Children report underlines that although shifts have taken place in terms of national level policies and discourse regarding children living on the streets,
at the local level there has been an unwelcome resurgence of raids and punitive approaches, including arrests and fines.
348
A number of cities and districts have enacted draconian regulations seeking to better control streets and public spaces, for instance prohibition of begging activities,
busking or selling of goods in the streets.
The regulations are problematic in several respects, first because they erode the capacity of the urban poor to earn a living without providing suitable alternatives, and second there are
numerous reports that the enforcement of these regulations by public order officials frequently results in violence.
349
In this particular instance, there seems to be a contradiction between child protection as conceived by central government, and child unfriendly local regulations and
initiatives undertaken at the sub-national level. It is important to take note of these tensions and of the need to harmonize the concept of child protection between national and sub-national
levels, but decentralisation can also be made to work in favour of child protection. In Section 4, the setting up of ‘child-friendly’ cities in Central Java focusing on children living on the streets is
examined in detail. This is an example of best practice towards children living on the streets in Indonesia indicating that comprehensive child protection measures - incorporating appropriate
responsiveness and preventive measures - can and do take place in decentralised Indonesia.
The issue of children living on the streets in Indonesia remains a pressing one because the trend is towards increasing rather than decreasing numbers of children living on the streets. In
spite of the severity of the problem, responsive policies are still very limited and preventative ones virtually absent. The issue of children living on the streets has received comparatively little
attention at almost all levels. Legal and social protection provisions are inadequate and need to be strengthened, and fundamental new approaches of the type depicted in the ‘child-friendly’ city
initiative in Central Java are in urgent need of consideration.
Box 3.5.2: Pram: A child living on the street
Pram is a 16-year-old boy from Papua Jayapura who ran away from home, dropped out of school and was living on the streets at the time of the interview. One of six children from a
poor family, Pram nonetheless recalls a happy childhood. Though not academically inclined, Pram was a highly motivated young boy who hoped to become a professional football player
or join the army. Once a favoured child by his father, Pram’s world came crashing down in his third year of primary school when he caught his father having an affair with another woman.
Pram reports that his father would hit him as a form of punishment if he missed school, but the discovery of the affair first by himself and then by his mother led to even more severe episodes
of violence. His father beat his mother black and blue with a wooden stick and beat Pram too when he was trying to protect his mother: “I shouted, ‘Mum run away Mum run away’ But
she couldn’t…and I gave in to my dad, if he hit mum then he would inevitably hit me too [for challenging him].”
348 Save the Children 2010 Review report Indonesia, pp135-140 349 Ibid., p136
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Pram was stripped naked by his father, hung upside down from a tree and left in the sun for an entire afternoon until after sunset. His father then put ants on Pram’s naked body and left him to
be bitten. The feelings of Pram and his siblings towards their father developed into bitterness, fear, loathing and ultimately, feelings of betrayal. Pram was hurt physically but was also left
deeply scarred emotionally: “I am bitter, really… Especially when I remember how Dad hit my mum.”
Following the violent episode, Pram ran away from home and dropped out of school. Pram reports that he understood that this was a risky option for a small child but he nonetheless felt
compelled to run away. His decision was partly derived from a desire to lee from violence and partly from wanting to exercise some control over his relationship with his father. From Pram’s
perspective, living in the streets remained his only avenue to shame and punish his father for his violence and betrayal of his son and family. Pram acknowledges that even now he wants to
hurt his father’s feelings. His father had once been proud of him and Pram now wants his father to feel responsible for his [Pram’s] loss of status and shattered life ambitions. Pram feels that his
earlier goals and life ambitions are now out of reach. Pram has developed a deeply ambivalent attitude towards school and education and any putative reintegration remains linked to his
father behaving responsibly towards his family: “My father loved me when I was small, but now he has remarried. I am angry…the problem would be solved if my dad left his affair…but
dad is not willing to.”
Whilst he still has contact with siblings and relatives, there are deep family tensions relating to his living in the streets and the issue of school and education: “All of them are angry, my
relatives, uncle and aunty are willing to send me back to school but I don’t want to go. They have enrolled me to study at informal school [kejar paket C] but I never attend the school. Even
If I went to school, I would be self-conscious [because of] my mucky clothes.”
Living in the streets is a harsh experience but Pram also notes that he has developed a network of friends who are in circumstances similar to his and who helped him find some shelter in a
crowded building. His friends also encouraged him to take on his job as a car park attendant, which helps him to subsist, and some also encourage him to take up his schooling again. On
this point Pram is aware that it would be in his best interest to go to school but he remains adamant that it is too late and that school is no longer really an option for him: “I don’t know
how to solve my problem, it may not be a solution.”
Source: Child interview conducted by PSKK, UGM in Jayapura, 2009; Pram is not his real name
Pram’s
350
experience outlined in Box 3.5.2 underlines how violence and the breakdown of a family can be viewed through the eyes of a child. It demonstrates the devastating effects of trauma
and how running away, dropping out of school and living in the street is perceived by children themselves as the only way to exercise control over otherwise unmanageable circumstances.
Pram is resisting returning to school and potentially improving his opportunities for better employment and a better standard of living over the long-term in response to the emotional hurt
and physical violence he has experienced. He does this knowingly, but also because he has no sense of justice for what he and his mother have experienced, and no knowledge of alternative
means of addressing his trauma. Furthermore, it also demonstrates how violence in the home has larger consequences for child development, child rights and opportunities.
3.5.4 ALTERNATIVE CARE
Children can find themselves without parental care for a wide number of reasons, as the result of natural disaster or conflict, or as the result of parental illness, disability or poverty. The CRC
emphasises the importance of family as being the most favourable environment to support a child’s interests, and that if children find themselves without parental care then the extended
family, alternative families e.g., fostering and adoption and - as a last resort - institutional care are possible alternatives.
351
The role of the state is conceived essentially in supportive terms, first enabling parents to fulfil their role and ensuring that alternative care solutions are found
if the parents cannot fulfil their role. In December 2009, the 65th UN General Assembly issued guidelines that reiterate and enhance the general provisions of the CRC.
352
There is a lack of data on children without parental care in Indonesia and little official data on children living in institutions. However, the 2000 census and research undertaken by UNICEF in
conjunction with Save the Children and the Ministry of Social Affairs then DEPSOS, now known as Kemensos shed some important light on the issue.
353
Data on children under 15 years of age from a national population survey carried out in 2000 indicate that over 2.15 million children
lived without parental care but that 90 per cent of these children were cared for by their extended families. A major finding of this collaborative research was that the majority of children who are
in childcare 90 per cent had at least one parent alive and more than 56 per cent had both parents alive with less than 6 per cent of the children in care having lost both parents.
354
There is still no official data on the total number of childcare institutions operating in Indonesia, but estimates
vary from 5,250-8,610 and these are overwhelmingly in the private sector the Ministry of Social Affairs runs three facilities and local governments approximately 32, while the remainder are in
private hands.
355
Some partial data about these institutions are available because some though not all of these institutions receive funding from the Ministry of Social Affairs over 4,000
institutions.
356
Historically, childcare institutions in Indonesia even those in receipt of government funding have been allowed to operate largely unregulated without licensing or mechanisms of oversight.
There are bureaucratic standards for the management of childcare institutions but the focus is on budgets and staffing levels.
357
The types, standard and quality of services offered by childcare institutions have not been given due consideration. Unsurprisingly, the lack of regulation and
oversight has meant that these institutions are not always run with the best interests of children in mind. Alternative care in Indonesia remains problematic for distinct sets of reasons: because of
the prevalence of institutional care as a response to children without parental care and because of the quality of care within these institutions.
As was mentioned above, the majority of children in childcare institutions in Indonesia have both parents alive. Poverty andor access education therefore appear to be the prime motives for
the institutionalisation of children. A corollary of this state of affairs is that children also tend to stay for long periods of time in these institutions typically the length of education cycles. Even
though separation from family is known to be detrimental to the development of children, the
350 Name changed 351 Save the Children 2010 Review report Indonesia, p43
352 UNICEF 2010 Children in Indonesia: Children without parental care, UNICEF: Jakarta 353 UNICEF, Save the Children and Ministry of Social Affairs 2007 Someone that matters, pp4-5. Note: The Ministry of Social Affairs was
known as DEPSOS in 2007 but is currently known as Kemensos. 354 Ibid.
355 Ibid., pp18-19 356 Ibid., p3
357 Save the Children 2010 Review report Indonesia, pp42-43
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majority of children in childcare institutions have little contact and interaction with families and communities during prolonged institutionalisation.
358
Institutional childcare in Indonesia appears to primarily be the result of economic vulnerability and a mechanism to ensure education,
indicating that a possible alternative to residential childcare would reside in supporting access to education.
359
The provision of education is the central priority of these institutions and this has a detrimental impact on the quality of care they provide. For instance, few childcare institutions
provide services that address the needs of children who have experienced violence, neglect or trauma.
360
In almost all cases, placement procedures into childcare institution were not followed. Virtually no assessments of the children’s need for care were carried out either before or during
the placement, and children are expected to leave once they have completed their education, not before.
361
The criteria for the selection of children into a childcare institution has little to do with protection needs - instead criteria tend to focus on whether they are of school age, from a poor
background, and old enough to take care of themselves.
The 2007 UNICEF, Save the Children and the Ministry of Social Affairs report also underlines serious issues in the running and operation of childcare institutions, including low ratio of staff
per child, lack of personnel with knowledge of or background in social work, and extensive practices of using the children as a source of free labour. Children are largely left to look after
themselves and each other, including cleaning, washing and contributing to the running of the institution, but the children’s contribution is often in lieu of adults rather than complementing
the work of adults. Other questions relate to the strict daily regimen in operation at childcare institutions, where the maintenance of order and discipline take priority over ensuring the welfare
and emotional development of the children. The military-style discipline of these institutions also frequently descends into violence, both physical and emotional. Punishments, public
humiliations, hitting, caning and the shaving of children’s heads are all used as disciplinary methods at childcare institutions.
362
The 2007 report also drew a bleak picture of alternative care in Indonesia, and the Ministry of Social Affairs was in the final stage of drafting new regulations National Standard on the Care
of Children in Institutions at the time the report was being completed. The new regulations seek to address some of the issues that have been highlighted here, such as introducing licences
for institutions, compliance mechanisms and shifting from a primary focus on residential care towards providing support for children and their families.
363
The reform of the current alternative care system in Indonesia is an important step that should assist the GoI to fulfil its obligations
underlined in the CRC and in the 2002 law on child protection ILCP. Follow-up research and data collection and analyses are needed, as this overview indicates. However, the reform of the current
alternative care system is a major undertaking that will require sustained coordination between local and central government bodies, as well as substantial financial support.
3.5.5 CHILDREN IN CONTACTCONFLICT WITH THE LAW
In this section, the situation of children in conflict with the law is examined, referring to persons under the age of 18 years who are suspected or accused of committing an illegal offence. This is a
358 UNICEF, Save the Children and Ministry of Social Affairs 2007 Someone that matters, pp5-6 359 Ibid., p12
360 Ibid., p8 361 Ibid.
362 Ibid. 363 Save the Children 2010 Review report Indonesia, p45
particularly sensitive area of child protection, as upholding the rights of those who are in conflict with the law can clash with local beliefs and practices as well as raise difficult questions about the
role and behaviour of state actors involved in the juvenile justice system.
With many aspects of child protection, the GoI has adopted positive measures, notably through legal provisions, incorporating child-friendly approaches to development planning, and through
the drafting of national action plans. However, these positive steps have not been relected in the area of the juvenile justice system for the 2000-2010 period. The Juvenile Justice Act No.
31997 was the only legislative step dealing with children in conflict with the law, and on the whole the juvenile justice system remained stubbornly ‘child-unfriendly’.
364
For instance, the 2000 SITAN flagged the issue of the age of criminal responsibility which had been set at eight years
old, stating that this is far too low, but this issue remains unaddressed at the time of writing this report.
365
There are multiple concerns about children in conflict with the law in Indonesia that arise from almost all aspects of their treatment in the justice system, and there is evidence of pervasive
denials of children’s rights. The CRC and Indonesia’s Law No. 232002 on Child Protection stipulate that detention should only be used as a last resort, and the CRC emphasizes restorative
approaches and rehabilitation.
366
Official data are sorely lacking but the available evidence suggests that harsh punitive approaches, including incarceration, are commonplace in Indonesia.
Officially, only children over 12 years of age can be sent to jail, but UNICEF staff have reported cases where younger children have been detained and even sent to jail.
367
These reports are supported by evidence from the household survey undertaken by the University of Indonesia for the 2009 Situation Analysis of Adolescents in Indonesia.
368
The survey of 1,500 adolescents aged 10-18 years across four provinces Aceh, Central Java, East Nusa
Tenggara and Papua shows that just under 7.5 per cent of all the respondents had experienced imprisonment. The breakdown of this figure by age group reveals that a considerable number of
children under 12 years old are imprisoned, with the exception of Central Java where virtually no children 10-12 years old report imprisonment. In Papua, however, over 10 per cent of 10- to
12-year-olds report having experienced imprisonment 4 per cent in Jayapura and 16 per cent in Jayawijaya districts. In Aceh, there is a disproportionately high number of 10- to 12-year-olds
report imprisonment which was 6.4 per cent for that age group compared to 4 per cent overall for the 10-18 year age group report imprisonment, while in East Nusa Tenggara NTT they are 5 per
cent and 5 per cent, respectively. Furthermore, research undertaken by the University of Indonesia in 2006 estimated that 96 per cent of child cases that came to court resulted in custodial sentences
and that 60 per cent of these sentences exceeded one year.
369
Data from the 2009 survey by the University of Indonesia further substantiate these worrying findings by estimating that approximately 7.5 per cent of children aged 10-18 years old report
having experienced imprisonment. The survey, however, also points towards significant disparities between provinces with reports of imprisonment ranging from 1.5 per cent in Central
Java, followed by 4 per cent in Aceh and 6 per cent in NTT, up to 18 per cent in Papua. Two of
364 Ibid., p125 365 UNICEF 2000 The situation of children 2000
366 Save the Children 2010 Review report Indonesia, pp125-127 367 UNICEF June 2010 Children in Indonesia: Juvenile justice. UNICEF: Jakarta, p2, available at: www.unicef.orgindonesiaUNICEF_
Indonesia_Juvenile_Justice_Fact_Sheet_-_June_2010.pdf Last accessed 22 February 2011 368 University of Indonesia 2010 Situation analysis of adolescents 2009, Mimeo: Jakarta. The survey and sampling methods are detailed
in Section 3.3 on HIV and AIDS. 369 Ibid.
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THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN INDONESIA 2000-2010 159
the provinces NTT and Papua show considerable intra-provincial disparities. In NTT, almost twice as many adolescents report imprisonment in Kupang 7.8 per cent as compared to Sikka
4 per cent. In Papua the disparities are even wider, with 5.5 per cent of respondents reporting imprisonment in Jayapura compared to 38.6 per cent in Jayawijaya.
Indonesia’s Directorate General for Corrections estimates that some 5,000 children are incarcerated at any one time either awaiting trial or serving their sentences and as noted
in the 2000 SITAN, many are incarcerated for petty crimes and minor offences, such as theft, vagrancy, truancy or drug misuse.
370
Worryingly there are indications that in some cases children are treated more harshly than adults by the justice system, since some of these offences are
categorised as ‘status offences’ and are not considered criminal offences when committed by an adult.
Harsh sentences result in part from the predominant view within the criminal justice system that formal judicial processes and even imprisonment are appropriate punishments for young
offenders.
371
It derives in part too from the fact that children put under arrest are processed through the justice system without legal counsel. There is little or no legal aid available for
children who come into contact or conflict with the law, whether as offenders or victims.
372
In addition, in a number of cases, children have been intimidated into waiving their rights to legal
representation.
373
The only commonly acknowledged path to avoiding harsh andor prison sentences is currently through bribery, principally in police stations.
374
One of the most worrying aspects of the experience of children in conflict with the law in Indonesia is the incarceration of children with adults. Failing to separate children from adults
during incarceration leaves children vulnerable to emotional and sexual abuse and physical violence. The 2006 study by the University of Indonesia indicated that 85 per cent of children
detained were incarcerated with adult inmates.
375
There are currently only 16 special juvenile detention centres throughout Indonesia and these house only 11 per cent of detained children.
The lack of provisions for juvenile detention also means that incarcerated children have no access to basic services such as education, which weakens rehabilitation efforts and the likelihood of
successful reintegration into society.
However, the experience of physical abuse and violence by children in conlict with the law is not restricted to contact with adult inmates but also comes from police and prison officers.
376
A number of reports and studies have pointed out that some children in conflict with the law are
frequently subjected to physical violence and degrading treatments at the time of arrest, in police stations and whilst in detention and prison.
377
Special offices for women and children, where staff are better trained in women and child rights, have been established, but in practice they work
with specific groups such as child victims and perpetrators of sexual violence rather than with the wider group of young offenders.
Finally, the little available data and research on the interaction between children and the justice system have tended to focus on children in conflict with the law, but the situation of children
370 Ibid., p1; UNICEF 2000 The situation of children 2000, p150 371 UNICEF 2006 A situation analysis of juvenile justice in Indonesia, UNICEF: Jakarta
372 Ibid. 373 Save the Children 2010 Review report Indonesia, pp130-131
374 Ibid. 375 UNICEF 2010 Children in Indonesia: Juvenile justice, p2
376 Save the Children 2010 Review report Indonesia, pp131-132; see also UNICEF 2006 SITAN Juvenile justice 377 Ibid.
who come into contact with the law either as victims or witnesses requires further attention and currently there are few specific measures to protect the interests of these children.
There have been numerous calls for initiatives to render the juvenile justice system more child- friendly. These include ending the policy of systematic lengthy prison sentences, and improving
the environment and safety of incarcerated children, notably through ensuring that they are sent to dedicated facilities. More substantively still, UNICEF is supporting diversion schemes that
entirely bypass the court system. These schemes work best when set up in close collaboration with community-based programmes involving the families of offenders, and seek to emphasise
the rehabilitation of children, avoid stigmatisation and minimise the rate of repeat offences.
378
The lack of data and research on children in conflict with the law also means that little is known about their background and the causes and conditions that lead to their committing offences.
Collection of such information is important in order to develop non-judicial interventions notably by social workers that seek to prevent rather than punish offences.
Whilst the overall situation of children in conflict or in contact with the law remains rather bleak, there are however some signals that more positive approaches to juvenile justice are underway.
The GoI is currently drafting a new law on juvenile delinquency that may potentially emphasise restorative rather than retributive justice.
379
The draft raises the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 12 years old and seeks to end the policy of harsh punishment for non-serious
offences i.e., decriminalizing status offences and emphasising diversion to the community at all stages of the juvenile justice process for non-serious offenses.
380
Finally, some of the more recent information about children in conflict with the law, notably from the 2009 survey by the University of Indonesia, raises important questions about provincial and
intra-provincial disparities, showing a troubling inequality of treatment of children based on their place of residence. The variations in the reported rates of imprisonment in children under 12
years old, for instance, show that districts and provinces act in direct contravention of national level laws, showing that the challenges of harmonizing and implementing child protection across
national, provincial and district levels have so far not been met.
3.5.6 CHILD PARTICIPATION
The Convention on the Rights of the Child CRC underlines child participation in a number of articles, including the right of all children to free expression and the opportunity for their views
to be respected Articles 12 and 13, access to information Article 17 and freedom of association Article 15. The term ‘participation’ has a variety of meanings, but in the context of child rights
and child protection it is usually associated with the process of sharing in decisions which affect children’s lives and their communities.
381
There is therefore a profound interaction between freedom and participation rights. The fulfilment of those rights entails both awareness and
empowerment on the part of children as well as their families, communities and government. In this subsection, child participation issues are explored from two distinct perspectives. First some
traditional views about children and families in Indonesia are examined, indicating the profound challenges facing the fulfilment of children’s rights to participation. Second, some issues relating
378 UNICEF 2010 Children in Indonesia: Juvenile justice, pp2-3 379 Ibid.
380 Ibid. 381 Hart, J. 1992 ‘Children’s participation: From tokenism to citizenship,’ Innocenti Essay No. 4, UNICEF-IDC: Florence
