Child abuse still rampant: Activist

Dewi Santoso, Jakarta

The country's legal system is unable to protect child victims of domestic violence, an activist says.

Office manager of the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) Rachma Fitriati said, although accurate figures were hard to come by, the number of cases of child abuse continued to be high, as the law on child protection was inadequate.

Enacted in September 2002, Law No. 23/2002 on child protection says that minors have the right to protection from discriminatory, exploitative and abusive treatment that could physically, mentally or socially harm them.

Article 80 of the law states that anyone found guilty of abusing or threatening a child could face a maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment and a fine of up to Rp 200 million (US$21,276).

"Yet, cases of child abuse keep occurring, and it's difficult to bring the perpetrators to court as most of the victims are afraid of the consequences of reporting their own parents," said Rachma.

The nation was shocked by the death of seven-year-old boy Arie Hanggara in 1984, after he was beaten by his father. Recently, in April, the body of four-year-old boy Bangkit Pangestu was found by his aunt at her residence in South Jakarta. Bangkit was allegedly strangled to death by his own father, who is now standing trial at the South Jakarta District Court.

Data from Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta shows that cases of child abuse handled by the hospital increased to 285 cases in 2003, from 276 in 2002 and 210 in 2001.

Rachma said the country needed a law on witness protection that would require a person who witnessed child abuse to report it.

She suggested that Indonesia emulate Malaysia and the Philippines, where the law on witness protection has come into force.

"Such a law must spell out that anyone who witnesses child abuse, including at the hands of their parents, must report it to the police or face a fine," she told The Jakarta Post recently.

In the Philippines, the law on witness protection allows a witness to testify only once. This is intended to protect the victim from the trauma of recounting their experience over and over again.

Child psychologist Seto Mulyadi said parents that were guilty of abuse often delusively believed that they owned their children and, therefore, could do anything to them.

However, Seto conceded that financial problems also play a role in child abuse.

"When parents encounter financial difficulties, they are easily depressed and angered. The may vent their emotions out on their children -- which is very wrong," he said.

Sociologist Darmanto Yatman agreed with Seto, but said the root cause of most cases of child abuse was poverty.

"Those who are from poor families likely receive a poor education, thus, their understanding of children is limited," said Darmanto, who is also a lecturer at Diponegoro University in Semarang.

To curb the rate of child abuse, he said, parents needed to better understand child psychology.

Komnas Anak has been disseminating Law No. 23/2002 on child protection so as to allow both parents and children to become familiar with it.

"We're also campaigning against child abuse by holding forums to discuss the issue with teachers, parents and children at elementary, junior high and senior high schools," said Rachma.

Forums have already been held at, among other schools, Bunda Maria Elementary School in Depok and SMP 56 state junior high school in Melawai, South Jakarta.

Key articles in Law No. 23/2002 on child protection --------------------------------------------------------------------- Article 13: Every child has the right to protection from discriminatory, exploitative, abusive and unfair treatment.

Article 16 (1): Every child has the right to protection from torture, abuse and punishments that are inhumane.

Article 54: Every school child is entitled to protection from any violence perpetrated by teachers, the schools' management or their fellow students.

Article 76 (1): Komnas Anak has the duty to provide the public with information on laws concerning child protection, gather data and information on cases of child abuse, receive complaints and conduct an investigation on the implementation on laws concerning child protection.