From VOA Learning English, this is the Education Report.
The reported rape of a six-year-old student at a well known school in Jakarta has received widespread media attention in Indonesia. The costly Jakarta International School, or JSI serves many children of diplomats and wealthy foreign families.
Indonesian police have arrested several suspects in connection with the incident reported in early April. Similar reports of sexual abuse at the school have followed.
Recently, another kindergarten student also said he was abused at the school. The education ministry ordered the school’s kindergarten closed, the ministry said the kindergarten have been operating without permission.
Years ago, American investigators named a former JSI teacher as one of the worst child sex offenders they have ever identified. American William James Vahey worked at the school from 1992 until 2002. He killed himself last month after U.S. Federal investigators seize some of the man’s computer records. This evidence included 90 photographs of boys he reportedly abused.
Tim Carr heads the Jakarta International School. He described the recent incident at the school as an unimaginable tragedy. He said the school is taking all measures to prevent another.
“We have been cooperating very closely with the police as well, to make sure that the perpetrators are found and justice is done. We also have been focusing resolutely on the safety and security of our campus to make sure that we have done everything possible to make sure this horrendous event never occurs again,” said Carr.
Indonesian media reports about sex abuse cases often, but the cases rarely get such widespread attention. In the last week of April, a police officer was accused of raping five children in Aceh province. And a father in Medan province faces charges of raping his baby daughter.
The number of reported rapes is increasing inIndonesia. But child psychologist Seto Mulyadi says many more sexual violations happened than are reported.
Last year, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission declared child rape a “national emergency,” but it said, it does not have dependable numbers on rape. The commission says, without these numbers, it is hard to know the true extent of child sexual abuse.
Victims are often afraid to talk about sexual attacks, they fear it will dishonor their families. A large part of Indonesian society considers it offensive to talk of sex and sexual abuse.
And that’s the VOA Learning English Education Report. For more reports about education, visit our website WWW.VOA-STORY.COM. I’m Jerilyn Watson.