Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga has warned that social conflicts could have a negative impact on women and children.
“As a result of social conflict, women and children can experience various impacts, such as physical injury, loss of access to basic needs, loss of access to natural resources utilization, and even become targets for violence or sexual harassment,” she said during a virtual event, accessed from Jakarta on Thursday.
The diversity of the people can become a source of strength, however, it also poses the risk of conflicts, Puspayoga observed.
She cited data from the Home Affairs Ministry which has indicated that the number of conflicts in Indonesia is currently still increasing. There were 31 conflicts in 2019, 71 conflicts in 2020, and 138 conflicts in 2021, she noted. Most of these conflicts were related to politics, economy, society, as well as culture, she said.
These conflicts have impacted the public negatively, and one of the effects they have triggered is a feeling of absence of safety, she said.
“Social conflicts have a very negative impact on humanity, starting from mutual suspicion, insecurity, to aggressive and violent behavior,” she elaborated.
She lauded the ratification of the 2nd National Action Plan for the Protection and Empowerment of Women and Children in Social Conflict (RAN P3AKS), which was realized through Regulation Number 5 of 2021 of the Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture.
The national action plan will only be optimized if everyone takes part in it, the minister said.
On a separate occasion, she had informed that her ministry was collaborating with the House of Representatives to ratify the Bill on Sexual Violence Crime without delay.
This is aimed at providing legal protection to victims of sexual violence and is a part of efforts to protect women and children, she said.
Source: Antara News