Segment 1

VOICEOVER

A new kind of talk show is on the air in Aceh, one just for children. Putri Saleh hosts a radio program in Banda Aceh that tackles issues ranging from homework to child abuse. Today, she and her guest are discussing child trafficking. Her show is the broadcasting component of a special media program that also includes a magazine written and edited by and for young people. Together, the radio and magazine provide a new forum for children in a region still recovering from the tsunami, as well as from a decades-long conflict.

PUTRI SALEH [Youth Radio Show Host]

I am a child as well. I need support from adults and also support from my peers. We need to help our friends who have been victims of violence, the conflict, or child trafficking. Formal lessons aren’t useful, because these children don’t need theories about how to protect themselves, they need support from adults to gain their courage back.

VOICEOVER

UNICEF has been working to build a long-lasting protective environment for children and women in Aceh. It is transforming children’s centers built in the wake of the tsunami into social welfare centers to care for vulnerable children. It has also helped revise provincial law to address issues of abuse, exploitation, and trafficking. As a result, Aceh now has one of the most advanced legal protection systems for children in all of Indonesia. Special courtrooms for children have been set up in three districts, and 22 police stations across Aceh have established children’s desks, to handle cases involving young people. Ibu Elfiana was among the first group of police officers trained to deal specifically with children. Now she is the chief of a sub district police station in Banda Aceh, the only woman in the province to hold such a position. She says authorities are now much better equipped to handle children who come in contact with the law.

IBU ELFIANA [Chief Officer, Baiturrahman Sub District]

The training and cooperation with UNICEF have changed our way of thinking and our perception of children. It’s made us more sensitive when dealing with children as perpetrators and helped us to take more care of children who are victims. But we still need to build a better awareness in the community that children should not be treated the same as adults.

VOICEOVER

A challenge to protect children that continues, years after the tsunami. In Banda Aceh, Indonesia, this is Steve Nettleton reporting for UNICEF television. Unite for children.