BOGOR, Indonesia, 11 August 2015 - UNICEF and the Government of Indonesia used National Children’s Day celebrations at Bogor Palace to launch an innovative new campaign aimed at ending violence against children.
The Pelindung Anak (Child Protector) campaign calls on every Indonesian – no matter their age, location or profession – to join national efforts in preventing child abuse.
The Minister of Women Empowerment and Child Protection, Yohana Yembise presented the Pelindung Anak television public service announcement to President Joko Widodo, members of his cabinet and hundreds of children from around the archipelago during the event.
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| President Joko Widodo (below) watches the Pelindung Anak video at Bogor Palace. ©UNICEF Indonesia/2015/Nick Baker |
Ibu Yohana highlighted how closely the campaign relates to the theme of the 2015 National Children’s Day – ‘Realising Child-Friendly Places and Families’. “Out of all the various cases of violence against children, currently the highest prevalence is sexual abuse,” Ibu Yohana said. She said the campaign represents an important step in addressing this.
Pelindung Anak content, which was developed by world-renowned agency Ogilvy&Mather Indonesia, will now be rolled out across a number of platforms. This includes television and radio public service announcements, billboards and social media content.
Partners such as KOMPAS TV, Sindo Trijaya FM Radio, the national Telkom company and BCA Bank are supporting the campaign by providing airspace on their various communication platforms.
Indonesians are being asked to visit the campaign website where they can subscribe as Child Protectors and commit to engage in their direct environment to prevent violence against children. The website also provides important background information about child abuse as well as input from youth networks on the topic.
“If it takes a village to raise a child, it also takes a village to protect a child,” UNICEF Indonesia Representative Gunilla Olsson said after the event. “Pelindung Anak will encourage communities to help protect their children by building on the Indonesian tradition of gotong royong (togetherness).”
“It’s promising to see broad support for the campaign so far. It shows that many Indonesians are willing to help make the invisible, visible,” Ibu Gunilla said.
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| Stills from the Pelindung Anak public service announcement. ©UNICEF Indonesia/2015 |
Violence against children remains widespread across Indonesia. According to the UNICEF study Hidden in Plain Sight, 40 percent of children aged 13-15 years report having been physically attacked at least once within a given year.
“Talking about or taking action on violence against children in Indonesia can be difficult when the issue is considered a taboo,” Ibu Gunilla said. “The Pelindung Anak campaign aims to address this – we want to help communities to come together and curb violence.”
“If we don’t, the consequences will be severe. Child victims of physical, sexual and emotional violence are more at risk of perpetrating violence as an adult. We need to interrupt this intergenerational cycle of violence,” she said.
Ending violence against children also contributes to the country’s economic development. A recent analysis commissioned by UNICEF found the aggregate costs of physical, sexual and emotional child abuse in the East Asia and Pacific region reached almost US$ 200 billion (updated to 2012 US Dollar values) or almost 2 percent of combined GDP.
Visit: www.pelindunganak.org
