Elderly Exploitation Prohibited

The Social Affairs Ministry prohibits people from begging by exploiting vulnerable groups, such as the elderly. This prohibition applies both in the real world and in cyberspace.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI (RAD)

A woman gives alms to beggars on a pedestrian bridge connected to the Taman Kota Bus Stop, West Jakarta, Monday (1/2/2021).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Regional administrations are asked to prevent and take action against those who exploit vulnerable groups to beg, both offline and online. This was in response to live broadcasts on social media featuring senior citizens to get virtual gifts.

Recently, the public has been busy talking about live broadcasts on Tiktok that are considered troubling. A number of elderly people sit in a pool of water and splash themselves to get virtual gifts or tokens. Content creators can exchange those tokens into real money.

Responding to this issue, Social Affairs Minister Tri Rismaharini issued Circular Letter No 2 of 2023 on Controlling Exploitation and/or Begging Activities that Benefit the Elderly, Children, Persons with Disabilities and/or Other Vulnerable Groups.

Also read:

> The Gloomy Face of Social Institutions

> Social Support for the Elderly in Decline

Local administrations are asked to prevent and take action against online and offline begging activities, especially those that exploit vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children and persons with disabilities.

"I'll write to [the local administration] later. I appeal to the region. That [begging online] is not allowed," said Risma, on Wednesday (18/1/2022), through a written statement.

The circular also requests that begging activities be reported to the police and/or followed up by public order unit officers. Regional administrations are asked to provide assistance, protection and social rehabilitation to victims of exploitation.

KOMPAS/RADITYA HELABUMI (RAD)

A child begs on one of the distribution bridges in the Glodok area, West Jakarta, Wednesday (24/11/2021). Homeless people and beggars are one of the social problems in big cities like Jakarta.

Individuals who are involved in the exploitation of vulnerable groups to turn them into beggars can be brought to legal process.

The University of Indonesia digital communication expert, Firman Kurniawan, said that there are two types of content that can be sold to the public, namely interesting and uninteresting content. Even if it is not interesting, sensational, controversial and unusual content can still attract attention. Content of elderly citizens is content that is not attractive, but "it sells".

"This content is unusual, so people pay attention. This is outrageous when it is used to make a profit. This is commodification, selling something that is not worth selling," said Firman.

Also read:Homeless People Have Not Been Optimally Handled

The University of Indonesia social observer, Devie Rahmawati, said begging has been done by humans for a long time. Based on a number of studies, beggars exploit the compassion of people who will provide assistance. Some people even take extreme measures to inspire compassion, for example by injuring their own bodies.

Even so, beggars still have the potential to receive assistance because of the generous nature of Indonesians. Indonesia has even been declared the most-generous country in the world by the Charity Aid Foundation in 2022.

"According to research in the West, sometimes people give help not because they want to help, but because they want to feel that they are a good person," said Devie.

Social media users are expected to be wise in dealing with exploitative content. So that content does not go viral, engagement with content must be limited, namely by not watching, commenting, sharing with others and not talking about it so it does not become a popular topic.

This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswo.