Child Rights Body Questions Activists Over Photos of Sex Abuse Victims on Social Media
Jakarta. The Indonesian Commission on Child Protection, or KPAI, has summoned activists over the circulation of photos of sex abuse victims on social media, which constitutes a breach of ethics.
A Facebook account under the name of the National Commission on Child Protection (Komnas PA) posted the photos showing activists handling the case, which was supervised by the Indonesian Child Protection Agency (LPAI).
Komnas PA recently changed its name to LPAI and appointed Seto Mulyadi as its chairman following an internal spat over the replacement of Arist Merdeka Sirait, who appears on the photos. Neither the LPAI, nor Komnas PA receive state funding, as they are only registered as civil society organizations.
Commissioners of the state-run KPAI on Wednesday (04/01) questioned the leaders of the LPAI, who insisted that the organization no longer had any organizational links to the now-defunct Komnas PA.
"We have actually supervised the case seriously. But there have been certain parties using the name of Komnas PA, which is no longer valid now," Seto told the media at the KPAI headquarters in Jakarta.
"There have been reports of an alleged violation of child protection rules, with an indication that the LPAI has been implicated in the case," KPAI chairman Asrorun Niam Sholeh said.
He added that the commission accepted the LPAI's explanation, but strongly warned the public against committing similar violations.
"Every individual or group has the responsibility to take part in child protection, but there are particular stipulations that should be upheld," Asrorun said.
KPAI commissioners have objected to the Facebook photos showing the faces of two children who were sexually abused in Banten last month, saying that the victims' faces should have been blurred out in the photos to protect identities, in accordance with child protection legislation.
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