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Violence Against Women, Children Surges during Pandemic in Indonesia: Ministry

Cases of violence against women and children during the Covid-19 pandemic have increased significantly in Indonesia, an official said on Wednesday, March 10.

Secretary of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry, Pribudiarta Nur Sitepu, said that the cases were submitted to the ministry’s online system namely Simponi.

“There has been a significant increase in cases of violence against women and children during the pandemic,” said Pribudiarta during the 2021’s national disaster management coordination meeting.

Before the pandemic from January 1 to February 28 last year, he said, the ministry recorded 1,913 cases of violence against women. But, during the pandemic from February 29-December 31, the reports to the ministry’s online system have increased fivefold or more than 5,500 cases.

Meanwhile, the number of child abuse before and during the pandemic reached 2,851 cases and 7,190 cases, respectively.

The cause of violence against children included the difficulty in finding safe places such as school and the increase in stress levels among children due to fake news in the media.

“The risk of being subjected to online exploitation has increased because the amount of time they spend online is longer than usual,” he added.

The causes of violence against women, among others, access to economic uncertainty, job loss, overcrowded living conditions, and household burdens, he said.

Source: https://go.kompas.com/read/2021/03/10/193828074/violence-against-women-children-surges-during-pandemic-in-indonesia-ministry.