The Justice for Street Children: Stop Child Exploitation
1. Topic: Child Exploitation
Thesis: Child exploitation in the street life should be removed strongly
due to the huge impacts to the children’s life physically and
psychologically, probability of wasting the lives of young generation,
and also against to human rights.
1. Huge impacts to the children’s life physically and psychologically
Children become fragile to drug abuse and street crime
Child exploitation’s pressure will affect mental condition
Children are exposed to high risks of disease and unhealthy
environment for their growth
2. Probability of wasting the lives of young generation
Inhibiting the opportunity for education in school
Giving the mindset of “work to survive”
Discouraging the child’s potential or passion
3. Against human rights
Forcing under-aged children against their will
Ignoring children’s rights
Degrading children’s pride
Concluding paragraph :
The form of awareness and caring are the key to overcome child
exploitation. Not only by catch the actor behind this, but also giving the
education and general public how urgency this case if it continues and
affects the current. Our contribution for our country can be by loving
and caring children from exploitation.
2. The Justice for the Street Children: Stop Child Exploitation
Technological development in modern era seems unable to erase child
exploitation which recently becomes hot issue on television, internet, etc. In 21st
century with the life style’s advancement and the way human being think, why
there are still many people who are so evil that they have heart to exploit
children? Looking at 5th
sila of Pancasila that “Social justice for the whole of the
people of Indonesia” which means no matter we are young or old, male or female,
having dark skin or white skin, it is our right to obtain the decent justice. There
are 87 millions children in Indonesia (according to Minister of Women’s
Empowermentand Children Protection,Yohana Yembise said in persconference at
House of Social Protection and Children in Bambu Apus, March 27th
2016) and it
will increase every year. The country has to keep them as valuable assets. From
that numbers, there are 18 thousands street children in Indonesia become fragile
to child exploitation. Like a butterfly that can reach the sky, they as the victim’s of
child exploitation need us to set them free. Child exploitation is not dignified and
should be removed strongly due to the huge impacts to the children’s life
physically and psychologically, probability of wasting the lives of young
generation, and also against to human rights.
3. Under-age children below 17 year-old, the physical and psychology are still
developing. If they grow up in the negative environment like teaching them about
drug-using, smoking, it will give the bad impacts to the children itself. Have you
ever thought why people employ children in a work? Probably one of the reasons
is we can give the pressure to them and obeying what we said. Based on Detik
News (March 23rd
, 2016), child age 5-10 years old are forced to be a “Three in
one’s Joki”, being a street’s singer, etc. If they do not do that, a slap will get on
them. From the children itself, it will give rise to feeling of distress. “Stress feeling
comes up when there are too much demands and threaten the welfare or
someone’s integrity,” Korchin (1976) said. The risks of stress feeling are making
the person to be reserved (do not want to interact with other people) and can
lead to be drug-user, smoking, consuming too much alcohol. Still remember about
a baby that takes apart in street’s singing? Aboutthe 6 months baby that was rent
200.000/day and had to eat 1 tablet Riklona (Clonazepam) for 2 days that is type
of hard medicine. The function of Riklona is to treat the seizures by retarding the
function of nervous system. So the user’s movement will be weakened (based on
according to Detik News, March 27th
2016). From those 2 cases, it makes us
wonder where the parents’ love for children go to? Beside that, the street
environment can influence the children’s growth. Why like that? Agreed by dr.
4. Claudia Gama from Pratama Katedral Clinic Public Clinic Bandung that being too
long on the street and inhale the high intensity of exhaust fume, smoke, and
other pollutant can cause to Asphyxiate, cough, dizzy, and skin infection.
Being a victim of child exploitation can waste the lives of young generation,
because they can not be themselves, can not do what they want as a child, and
have to obey whatthe actor behind the exploitation says. Their opportunity to get
the education can be distrubed. According to DetikNews (March 27th
, 2016), there
was a child being a ‘joki’ in the morning. At 10 AM, that child went to school and
sang on the street after school ended. Money from that works would be given to
child’s mother that was waiting in front of the minimarket. If that activity goes on
and on, the child will feel really tired to manage time for studying and working.
Especially, that child is still that young. Maybe, people think that it is good for
children to learn how to be autonomous, helping their parents, etc. But it is not
child work, it is child exploitation. As a child, they have the right to get education.
It is written at article 31 paragraph 1 of 1945 constitution. I have read someone’s
opinion that “school environment is too narrow to get an education. God has
made this world so big and we can search for more education,” and I also agree.
But for me, as long as we can get school, why not? I know that the best teacher in
life is experience. In school, we learn how to socialize with other people,
5. developing our mindset, and forming the characters. It will be helpful for child
growth. One of the common reasons why child exploitation is still happening, is
economic condition. The increasing cost of family needs and rising prices of goods
make the poverty becomes inevitable in Indonesia. Based on what Vice Chairman
Of The Commission For Child Protection, Magdalena Sitorus has said, poverty is
divided into two; in economic (the inadequacy of existing income to fulfill the
needs) and in knowledge (parents have the full control for their child’s life and
ask them to work). It does not matter if children help their parents to earn money
by teaching the courses, taking part time job, and the parents do not force them.
It is called child labor. This is different if child is abused to someone’s benefit
without thinking of some factors such as the age of the children, the danger or
unhealty condition of work, and for long hours time. It means child exploitation.
Not impossible if we do not put attention for the child-abused, the “work to
survive” mindset will arise in child’s mind. Because if we do not work, we can not
survive in this hard life. Meanwhile, when the child only focus to work, the child
can not develop their passion overall. Like what the speaker of motivational
speaker said, “Every children are unique and they definitely have a dream.
Because hope gives spirit to be brave to pursue that dream.”
6. Every human have their rights that they got when they were born. We as a
human must be respect it, including those who are the child exploitation’s victim.
According to Terredeshommes website, “168 million children are affected by child
labour and 85 million are doing hazardous work. 1 to 2 million children are forced
into sexual exploitation and pornography per yearand exposed to serious trauma,
diseases, alcohol, and drugs,” (in the world). They are abused by irresponsible
persons without thinking the effect to the children itself. In Indonesia, if the the
actor behind the exploitation is caught, there are many laws that can entrap
them, such as; Act No. 3 of 1997 about Juvenile Court, Act No. 23 of 2002 about
Child Protection, Act No. 13 of 2013 about Employment, and Act No. 21 of 2007
about Eradication of Human Trafficking Crime. Based on beritametro.news
(August 26th
, 2016) polices has caught three actors behind child exploitation in
Malang, East Java. They were entangled by Act No. 35 of 2014 with the maximum
threat 10 years in prison. Whatever it is, they have to be responsible for what
they did in the past. On the one hand, the actor behind the exploitation are
ignoring the children’s rights. Written in Act No. 23 of 2002 Article 4-19 about
child protection, children’s rights are; having the right to live, to grow and thrive,
to get the protection from discrimination, exploitation, neglect, violence and
injustice. In accordance with Child’s Rights Convention that has been ratified that
7. children have the right to go to school, playing, doing activities, and Indonesia
really protects them. On the other hand, child exploitation is also about child’s
pride. The environment that the children receive with continue frequency will
affect their characteristics, whether we treat them well or maliciously. Many
kinds of child exploitation on the street such as; ‘joki’, singing on the street, or
selling them for other human’s benefit. It shows us about degrading child’s pride.
Maybe, they don’t understand enough about this situation. But, if they know this,
they will be sad and feel humiliated as a human being.
The form of awareness and caring are the key to overcome child
exploitation. Not only by catch the actor behind this, but also giving the education
and general public how urgency this case if it continues and affects the current
condition of the children and their future. The progress of this age should be
followed by the mindset advacement to sort out the crime so as not to continue
and peace in justice can be created. Our contribution for our country can be by
loving and caring children from exploitation. Because if not us, then who else?