JAKARTA - Indonesian National Police Chief Gen. Listyo Sigit Prabowo launched specialized directorates for Women and Child Protection and Anti-Human Trafficking (PPA-PPO) at 11 regional police commands and 22 precincts on January 22.

The new units will operate in Jakarta, East Java, Central Java, and eight other regions. Police signed a cooperation agreement with the Ministry of Migrant Worker Protection to strengthen oversight of recruitment agencies, which have long served as trafficking pipelines.

“We've been conducting outreach activities for a year to build the courage of victims to truly believe they're protected when reporting,” said Prabowo.

“Because, on the one hand, it can be traumatic if we can't provide adequate service and protection, as well as psychological support.”

The expansion responds to troubling statistics as Indonesia currently holds Tier 2 status in the U.S. State Department's trafficking report, indicating serious issues in victim protection and law enforcement despite some progress.

Statistically, about one in four Indonesian women aged 15–64 have experienced physical, sexual, or psychological violence in their lifetime, according to the 2024 National Women’s Life Experience Survey (SPHPN).

Police recorded 36,148 cases of gender-based violence against women and children in 2025, with a case resolution rate of around 12.8 percent. By 25 July 2025, the Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry had logged 10,203 cases, more than half of the 19,628 recorded in 2024, with West Java among the provinces reporting the highest numbers.

Police also uncovered 353 human trafficking cases in 2025 involving 1,114 victims, including 699 Indonesians repatriated from Myanmar. Ministry data show 1,265 children were trafficked between 2020 and 2024, while women and children made up about 97 percent of trafficking victims from 2019 to 2023.

Indonesia’s government, speaking at a high-level session of the Global Partnership against Online Scams in Bangkok last year, previously urged countries to share real-time intelligence and cross-border cooperation to disrupt scam money flows.