The Importance of Protecting Children Rights During the COVID-19 Pandemic

     As we all know that the COVID-19 pandemic appeared in early 2020, it remains to infect more people day-by-day in numerous countries. Therefore, there are health protocols recommended by the government such as social distancing, hand soap and sanitizer every time we go out and stay at home measures. Nevertheless, staying at home can’t be applied to everyone due to the fact that there are countless jobs that can’t be done at home.

    These protocols have highly impacted economic growth negatively in many countries. Some parents that are left unemployed due to this pandemic find it difficult to handle the devastating impact. At times, this leads to venting their problems through violent behavior towards their own child. 17-year-old Mandira from Nepal who participated in Save the Children’s COVID-19 digital hangout sessions, said: “Parents are frustrated during the lockdown, and children are also restless. I have witnessed parents getting irritated with their children and hitting them – but they don’t realize children need attention, they need to know what’s happening, as they feel caged inside the house.” (Save The Children, 2020)

    Self-isolation and lockdown measures increase the risk of children, in particular girls, becoming the victims of domestic violence, online bullying or other forms of abuse. This 1 increases the urgency of protection to be available towards children rights. “Based on Sistem Informasi Online Perlindungan Perempuan dan Anak (SIMFONI PPA) in 1 January – 26 January there are 3.297 child abuse case that happened during COVID 19, and 1.962 children were victims of sexual violence, 50 of them became victims of child exploitation and 61 children became victims of human trafficking.” Valentina Gintings said in an official statement on Tuesday (7/7/20). In response, Valentina emphasized the importance of collecting valid data to ascertain the number of children who are vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking in disasters. 2

    "These conditions have to be attentive and acted upon by all parties, so as not to impact on other social issues. In accordance with the mandate of Law (Law) Number 35 Year 2014 article 59A paragraph (1), we must provide special protection and minimize the vulnerability of children in disaster situations, namely by carrying out rapid handling through physical, social rehabilitation and prevention of other diseases; provide psychosocial assistance to accelerate child recovery; provide social assistance for children or families who cannot afford; and provide protection for child victims of exploitation in every judicial process," said Valentina. 3

    In recent weeks, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) have announced measures to coordinate responses to the pandemic. However, children’s rights are only partly discussed. As the 18 countries that make up ASEAN and SAARC are home to some 850 million children, their rights must be prioritized as well in the fight against the virus.

Reference :

Anonim, COVID-19: MILLIONS OF CHILDREN IN LOCKDOWN IN ASIA AT RISK OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, https://www.savethechildren.net/news/covid-19-millions-children-lockdown-asia-risk-domestic-violence, Accessed on 30 July 2020

Atalya Puspa, Anak Rentan jadi Korban Kekerasan di Masa Pandemi Covid-19 , https://mediaindonesia.com/read/detail/326390-anak-rentan-jadi-korban-kekerasan-di-masa-pandemi-covid-19, Accessed on 29 July 2020

Rachel Harvery, COVID-19: the unseen impacts on children, https://blogs.unicef.org/east-asia-pacific/covid-19-the-unseen-impacts-on-children/, Accessed on 31 July 2020

Anya Kamenetz, Child Sexual Abuse Reports Are On The Rise Amid Lockdown Orders, https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/04/28/847251985/child-sexual-abuse-reports-are-on-the-rise-amid-lockdown-orders, Accessed on 31 July 2020