Have you thought about the term of a child? In various literatures,
children are models of adults. Just as adults demand that their rights should be fulfilled, so the
children have rights to be fulfilled even though they are not aware of it. The adults should ensure
that the rights of the child are fulfilled and they are protected from the
violence that threatens them. I discovered the reality from Stube HEMAT Yogyakarta's
discussion about "The Children’s Problem in Indonesia and Striving for the
Rights of the Children" (5-6/8/2021).
From the discussion, I was curious to find information by observing the environment that related to the rights of the children. The Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) noted 5.463 cases of child abuse until July 2021. Based on the data from the ministry of PPPA's online information system for Women and Children's Protection, the majority of child abuse cases occurred in households. While others take place at schools and public places. The kind of violence covered physical, psychic, displacement, trafficking, and exploitation even sexual violence. The violence affects children of various ages, while reported cases are common in high school/equals.
One of the causes of the cases is minimum understanding and awareness of
the rights of the child among adults, so it needs efforts for socialization among the society. I took a simple
step to promote an understanding of the rights of the child, especially in my
hometown, Nias, although I am currently in Yogyakarta. I encouraged my sibling,
Kefas Charity Laoli, to talk with local youths. Although he is still at
high school, he responded positively and vigorously moved local youths to learn
the rights of children in Nias through online meeting (07/08/2021), held in the community
center of the Gido District, Nias Regency, North Sumatra. At least eight youths
from various schools joined it.
I started the session with a simple game as ice-breaking and helped participants easily
understand the topic. Then they looked at a brief history about the emergence
rights of child concept at both international and national levels, the
diversity of rights of children, and those who are responsible to ensure those
rights are fulfilled, including parents, families, communities, and
governments. At the end of the discussion, I invited them to map the children's
rights implementation among themselves by checking the statements that have
been shared. Then, they came to realize and recognize that some things remain
unfulfilled from the 42 rights of children according to international
conventions. From this phase, I ignited them to reflect on what causes the
rights of children to be unfulfilled and what can they do as teenagers? Until
one understanding came up that youth should actively participate in the child
community of their area as a means to
campaign for the children’s rights both in the family and in the community, including balancing
the rights and duty of the child.
The process of the activity made me more convinced that children need an adult's touch to introduce their rights since early age. One of the participants, Sri Zebua gave feedback, "Through this activity, I learned my rights and obligations as a child either in the family-community, or the government." Another participant, Cici Halawa said, "I didn't realize that there were children's rights until I found out that I had learned a new topic besides school subjects in this activity."
One simple action that touched the grassroots will awaken consciousness and enthusiasm to life. The adults and governments work together to realize a child's rights and create children growing environment and space that are conducive, safe, and away from violence. ***
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