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THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN INDONESIA 2000-2010 11
Children have the right to protection from discrimination, economic or sexual exploitation, neglect, injustice, harsh treatment, violence or abuse, and other forms of mistreatment
Article 13. There are also provisions in Article 15 for protection against misusing children for political activities, armed conflict, social unrest, violence and war. Article 16 specifies
that children should be protected from abuse, torture or inhuman punishment under the Law, and that the arrest, detention, or criminal prosecution of a child shall only be used
as a final recourse. In the case that children are incarcerated, they should be separated from adults, receive legal aid and other assistance at every stage of the legal process,
and be processed in a children’s court Article 17. In the case that the child is a victim or perpetrator of sexual abuse, he or she has the right to have their identity kept confidential.
The obligations of children are also outlined in the Law in Article 19, including: to respect his parents, guardians and teachers; to love his family and the community, and to respect
his friends; to love the homeland, the nation and the state; to practice his religion in accordance with its teachings; to uphold noble values and ethics.
Box 1.2.2: National Program for Indonesian Children PNBAI 2015
The National Program for Indonesian Children 2015 emerged after Indonesia’s commitment to the declaration on ‘A World Fit for Children’ WFC at the 27th United
Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children in 2001. There are four key areas that receive special attention in the WFC declaration and which have been adopted by
the national programme: promoting healthy lives; providing quality education; protecting against abuse, exploitation and violence; and combating HIV and AIDS. The programme
also seeks to translate into practice the principles and rights for children guaranteed under the 1945 Constitution Articles 28b and 28c and in the ILCP Law No. 232002, with
a clear view towards supporting the CRC and achieving the related MDGs.
The programme is jointly administered by state departments and institutions, and various civil society organisations, and includes child representatives. It has also been integrated
into the National Medium-Term Development Plan RPJMN 2010-2014. The programme has three basic policies:
1. Improve child health, growth and development through community empowerment, strengthening cross-sectoral joint efforts and coordination, improving living
environments, and increasing the quality and outreach of health initiatives. This includes increasing the quality, skills and knowledge of health providers, finance staff
and managers including utilization of relevant technologies.
2. Improve child intelligence through widening the accessibility and increasing the quality and efficiency of the education system, as well as increasing the participation
of the community in these processes. 3. Improve the protection and participation of children through improving the quality of
social services, including legal instruments, and the spread and outreach of services, especially for children in emergencies or difficult situations, by working in local and
international partnerships. In relation to the MDGs, the programme aims more specifically to:
For health: Reduce infant mortality by one third of 2001 levels; reduce maternal mortality by one third of 2001 levels; reduce malnutrition and low birth weight for infants; increase
access to clean water and improve household sanitation; develop a national programme for developmental and early learning for children; implement a national health programme for
young adolescents; and implement a national programme on reproductive health.
For education: Increase the number of children with access to developmental and early learning services to 85 by 2015; by 2008, complete the compulsory basic education
programme that ensures a minimum of nine years of education for every Indonesian child; increase the enrolment capacity of secondary level education facilities; and promote
alternative education programmes such as elementary school equivalency programmes Programme package A, secondary school equivalency programmes Programme package
B and high school equivalency programmes Programme package C.
For child protection: Prevent child abuse, violence and exploitation; establish and enforce legal protection for children; strengthen programmes for recovery and social reintegration;
strengthen coordination and cooperation; and enhance child participation.
For combating HIV and AIDS: Create a conducive setting for preventing the spread of HIV and AIDS through comprehensive medical therapy and treatment, and cross-sectoral
cooperation; integrate preventive measures with medical therapy, treatment and support; empower families and young adolescents particularly young female adolescents; address
AIDS-related stigma and improve general attitudes towards AIDS victims and their families; improve access to antiretroviral therapy ART; and integrate and mainstream AIDS
prevention with the national educational curriculum.
1.3 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK, DATA COLLECTION
AND ANALYSIS IN THE SITAN
Along with the previously mentioned changes in the legal framework for the introduction of new policies, policymaking in Indonesia has also had to incorporate a changing institutional
environment. During the past ten years, Indonesia has seen three presidents Wahid, Sukarnoputri and inally Yudhoyono from different political parties, following the installation in
1998 of interim President Habibie, who began the process of political restructuring in the country. Over time, the political situation has stabilised in Indonesia, with each subsequent election
being marked by a reduced level of violence. The presidents, and their respective legislative assemblies, have contributed to strengthening the institutional reforms of democratisation and
decentralisation implemented through Laws No. 221999 and 251999, and revised through Laws No. 322004 and 332004, and to improving the skills and the capacity of the civil service
throughout the country to deliver services throughout Indonesia. These institutional changes have introduced both deliberative democracy and participatory development in the country.
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and interpretation of these laws and regulations, which also depends on the knowledge and interests of local government staff and local political leaders, which may result in modifications
and changes to such policies in practice. Other policies are the result of local initiatives, such as in the case of the East Nusa Tenggara Maternal and Child Health Revolution Revolusi KIA.
However, the implementation of policies and programmes which affect children depend not only on the stipulation of a policy by both local and national governments, but also on: budgets being
prioritised for implementation; the creation of appropriate technical guidelines for government staff to use in implementing these policies; the creation of strategies and action plans by
local sectoral offices and agencies, and sometimes inter-office coordination; the availability of infrastructure and service facilities; the number and capacity of local government staff assigned
to implement these policies; and in some cases partnerships with civil society organisations to get the initiatives off the ground. At every stage, people’s priorities, interests, and capacities are
involved, which may affect the effectiveness of implementation and actual changes in practice, which in turn affect child welfare. This is the institutional grey box of policymaking. Furthermore,
whether these appropriate mechanisms are taken up by local peoples also depends on their needs, understanding, priorities and interests, which - if they are not aligned with a particular
policy - may limit the uptake of a programme or service in practice.
Figure 1.3.1: Policy making and policy shaping
Therefore, this SITAN is unique methodologically in that it endeavours to examine the problems evident in child welfare and examples of the response to them in social policy in Indonesia.
It examines the situation of children at the macro national, mezzo sub-national, and micro individual levels. It applies multiple theories and perspectives of analysis and different data
sources, including the views of policymakers, practitioners, parents, activists and the voices of children themselves. It uses mixed data collection methods, including desk reviews, focus
group discussions with practitioners, government, children, and reference groups for feedback on findings and triangulation, in-depth interviews with policy stakeholders and community
members, and life histories of children. The methods include both qualitative interviews and analysis of policy implementation, as well as use of quantitative data from the National Socio-
Economic Surveys known in Indonesia by the acronym SUSENAS, the Indonesian Demographic and Health Surveys IDHS, known in Indonesia by the acronym SDKl, Basic Health Research
known in Indonesia as Riskesdas, and use of other data in routine reports from relevant departments. ‘Social policy’-making has three different dimensions which this SITAN seeks to
explore. First, it relates to the different sectors and agencies responsible for welfare services: education, health, nutrition, housing, water and sanitation, women’s empowerment and child
protection. Second, from a multi-sectoral perspective on development, it signifies all policies aimed at strengthening society and meeting social rights. Third, it involves participation of and
collaboration with institutional practitioners and citizens, especially children, and is influenced by how they interpret and shape the policies that affect them.
24 Darwin, M. 2009 How participation shapes local development, paper submitted to UNDP as a background paper for Human Development Report 2010
, p12 25 Regarding the discussion on policy shaping as informal policymaking, see: Cronbach, L. J., Ambron, S. R., Dornbusch, S. M., Hess,
R. D., Hornik, R. C., Phillips, D. C., Walker, D. S. and Weiner, S. S. 1985 Toward reform of program evaluation: Aims, methods, and institutional arrangement
, Jossey-Bass Publishers: San Francisco, CA, pp76-151. On the role of practitioner in policy implementation, see: Lipsky, M. 1971 ‘Street level bureaucracy and the analysis of urban reform’, Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol.6: 391-409. On bottom-
up analysis that puts practitioner, citizen or community at the centre of analysis, see: Goggin, M. L., Bowman, A. O’M., Lester, J. P. and O’Toole, Jr., L. J. 1990 Implementation theory and practice: Toward a third generation, Scott, ForesmanLittle, Brown Higher Education:
Glenview, Illinois, pp99-106.
Policy Social
Budget Results
Community
Institutional policymaking
the ‘grey box’
system, people, resources
Rights fulfillment – Decentralisation
Legislative elections were held in Indonesia in April 2009 for the 132 seats of the Regional Representative Council DPD and 560 seats of the People’s Representative Council DPR. The
Democratic Party of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the largest share of the vote. Presidential elections were then held in Indonesia in July 2009, to elect a president for the 2009-
2014 period. President Yudhoyono won more than 60 per cent of the vote in the irst round and was declared president by the General Election Commission. Thus, President Yudhoyono has
been given the mandate to continue to strengthen democracy, to improve the economic situation and governance - especially with regards to reducing corruption and improving transparency -
and to achieve the MDGs with equity, as articulated in the new Medium-Term Development Plan RPJMN 2010-2014.
Following ten years of reforms, communities are now more involved not only in political processes but also in social planning. In particular, there is greater civic engagement in five key
areas: 1 the formulation of local regulations; 2 local development planning; 3 local budgeting; 4 community-driven development; and 5 public service provision.
24
This SITAN endeavours to explore these processes of institution strengthening and innovative policymaking, as well as the
difficulties this entails in Indonesia’s new decentralised system.
Conceptually, this SITAN distinguishes two dimensions of child-focused policymaking. First, it involves the official decision-making process and the implementation of responses to child-
related problems and issues such as health, education, child freedom and participation, child protection from violence, neglect and discrimination, defining these as efforts to achieve the
larger goals of child welfare and the fulfilment of child rights. Policies are shaped by leaders, as well as laws, government regulations, long- or short-term time frames, professional practices,
institutional strategies and action plans.
Second, child-related policymaking also comprises complex informal processes in communities, including interactions between various stakeholders, including between rights-holders
children and duty-bearers parents, practitioners, between citizens and those who speak for constituencies or agencies, and between public officials and NGO activists andor academics.
All these stakeholders play important roles in shaping policies and how they are implemented in practice through real actions based on their values, personal identity, and interests. They
build collaboration, share visions and values, face problems together and search for more rational agreements.
25
Therefore, this SITAN aims to better explain the ‘institutional grey box’ of policymaking and implementation, by exploring the data and undertaking analysis from
the perspectives of the decision-makers, the policy implementers, and the people who use the services Figure 1.3.1.
For example, some of the relevant policies created at the national level are also being implemented locally, such as efforts to make pregnancy safer, to reduce malnutrition, and to
improve food security. The policy framework and regulations may exist at the national level but these also need to be ratified and enacted in the local level regulatory framework under
decentralisation. Enacting national and local initiatives relies on local level prioritisation
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THE SITUATION OF CHILDREN AND WOMEN IN INDONESIA 2000-2010 15
1.4 SITAN STRUCTURE
Based on the data collection methods and the conceptual framework already described, this SITAN is therefore structured as follows:
Section 2 provides an overview of the changes in the political, economic and demographic context over the past ten years, since such changes affect the context in which child welfare
policies and programmes are designed and operate. It demonstrates that along a number of socio-economic and welfare indicators there are disparities between income groups, provinces,
urban and rural areas, and in some cases gender, illustrating the importance of improving policy attention to pro-poor growth and improving human development, as well as achieving MDGs
with equity.
Section 3 examines patterns and trends in the indicators of child welfare and the situation of women, particularly at the national level. This includes a discussion of indicators in health and
nutrition, water and sanitation, HIV and AIDS, sexually transmitted infections and adolescent sex practices, education, and child special protection in Indonesia. It also includes a discussion
of some of the national-level policy interventions in place to improve each aspect of child welfare. The analysis and discussion of each indicator and corresponding policy interventions
is not exhaustive, however, as the changes in both the legal and policy framework over the past ten years have been too numerous even for the most comprehensive of SITAN, and data
insufficiencies also persist. It is clear from Section 3 that despite overall improvements in some indicators, disparities between regions and groups remain. Furthermore, it is clear that
understanding the changes in the situation of children in Indonesia is undermined by data insufficiencies in some key indicators, notably in child protection.
Next, to truly understand the problems children and women face in a country as large and diverse as Indonesia, and the factors that have contributed to vulnerabilities or improvements in their
situation, it is important to examine the local contexts. Variations in the situation of women and children in Indonesia - and the complexities of how such situations have emerged - are likely to
be disguised by national averages and statistical indicators.
Section 4 therefore, explores case studies of the situation of women and children in four very different provinces in Indonesia: Aceh, Papua, Central Java and East Nusa Tenggara NTT. This
section demonstrates that in different regions of Indonesia there are different vulnerabilities and contributing factors, requiring different kinds of interventions. Section 4 also examines the way
children themselves respond in different contexts. It elucidates the synergies between home, school, street and communities, and that despite the different contexts and vulnerabilities they
face, children have similar coping mechanisms, and as their skills develop, they use innovative strategies to improve their own situations. This is important for considering how children might
be better included in policy- and decision-making regarding their own welfare. Section 4 finally examines the policy framework and responses to the needs of children and women in the new
decentralised context in Indonesia. It explores how decentralisation has been institutionalised, how policies are delivered, and how this translates into practice from the views of key
stakeholders in the four provincial case studies, including the views of practitioners. This provides a series of lessons learned in both policy innovation and the challenges of improving child
welfare under decentralisation. The four provinces selected for the case studies were chosen to represent very different socio-
economic contexts and varied stages of institutional development under decentralisation. They vary in terms of special autonomy status, availability of natural resources, density of the
population, experience of natural disasters and conflicts, and proximity to public resources and infrastructure. The case studies within the provinces were also chosen to illustrate particular
challenges and policy responses in Indonesia, with regard to education Aceh, malnutrition and health NTT, combating HIV and AIDS Papua, and child special protection for vulnerable
groups such as children living on the streets in Indonesian cities Central Java. Section 4 outlines the economic and non-economic factors which shape these vulnerabilities from the perspectives
of key stakeholders policymakers, practitioners, and children themselves. It then examines some but not all of the policy responses to these challenges in each province, illustrating the
challenges, gaps and innovations in the decentralised context. It is important to remember that these case studies are not exhaustive sectoral reviews in each province, as given the complexities
of the sub-national environment in Indonesia and the policy and institutional environment at the national and sub-national level, each would constitute a large-scale SITAN in itself. The features
of these provinces and case studies are as follows:
1. Nanggroë Aceh Darussalam N.A.D., but known as ‘Aceh’ here and throughout the rest of this report: Located in the northwest of the archipelago on the island of Sumatera, Aceh
has implemented special autonomy and Syariah law. It has a troubled history of conflict between the state and the Free Aceh Movement GAM, as well as natural disasters. While
the province is resource rich, it has limited human development and high levels of poverty, made worse by the impact of the December 2004 tsunami. Examining Aceh is useful not
only for understanding the vulnerabilities children and women face and how they respond in a context of complex emergencies, but also how large scale interventions to rebuild the
province have contributed to service provision. Prior to the tsunami, many education facilities were destroyed during the conflict, and the situation was made worse by the tsunami.
This made it dificult to guarantee access to education. However, large scale interventions in education resulting from tsunami relief, and investment in conflict areas following the
signing of the peace agreement between GAM and the GoI in 2005, have resulted in vast improvements in education levels the province albeit unevenly at the district level, as
Section 4 demonstrates. This provides many lessons in policy innovation and identifies the continued challenges for improving disparities in access to education in the province.
2. Central Java: Located in the south of the country on the nation’s most densely populated island, Central Java is predominantly Muslim. It has a higher standard of living on average
compared to other provinces, but its large population and rural poverty mean there are large inter-district and inter-income group disparities in terms of child welfare. Rural poverty in the
district contributes to the migration of children to urban areas, some of whom have ended up living on the streets. The study of children living on the streets, their vulnerabilities, and
the policy responses to the problem highlight a number of issues in child special protection. They also highlight how multi-sectoral responses to the problem under decentralisation,
through the child-friendly city pilot in the City of Surakarta, have required consistent commitment of the district government to prioritising children in policy formulation,
budgeting, and the establishment of a Bureau of Child Protection. All of this has been based on the political will and the commitment of the municipality leadership and support from the
provincial level to improve child rights and welfare.
Pantai Abi Paupa
