inp.polri.go.id - Jakarta. Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) invites the mass media to join their support in preventing child labor as the mass media has the vital role in spreading the information and education to the public.

“Mass media becomes one of the important pillars in protecting children. So, in this monitoring effort, our aim is to ask for suggestions and recommendations from our colleagues in the media,” says KPAI Chair, Ai Solihah Maryati on Monday (10/7/2024).

She reminds the mass media to continue to uphold their duty and functions in protecting the children by spreading educational information.

“We continue to push our strategic cooperation with the media and regional government to improve the human resource quality and media professionalism, particularly in protecting the children in general and eradicating child labor,” explains Maryati.

Maryati remarks that in 2020, there was an increase in child labor for 2.99 percent, turning the child labor rate from 6.35 percent in 2019 to 9.35 in 2020. In 2020, there are 2,176,389 children who work in Indonesia, where 18.01 percent of them work more than 40 hours per week.

"This increase is dominated by the population of boys with a percentage of 59.28 percent. There are 58 percent of child workers who experience worrying exploitation, where 63 percent of them are vulnerable to human trafficking (TPPO)," she explained.

(ad/fa/pr/nm)