Child abuse still rampant in Indonesia

By Budiman Moerdijat and Benget Simbolon Tnb

JAKARTA (JP): Despite growing calls for better protection of children's rights, child abuse remains a sad fact in today's society.

Hamid Patilima of the Indonesian Children's Welfare Foundation (YKAI) said in a report that cases of child abuse were still rampant in Indonesia.

Based on news reports from January 1994 to December 1997, the foundation said that there were at least 687 child abuse cases recorded in the country. The newspapers surveyed included all the national papers and many local and regional publications, including Pikiran Rakyat, Jawa Pos, Bernas, Surabaya Post, Bali Post and Banjarmasin Post.

The number of reported cases may look small, but the report also revealed a number of different types of abuse, not all of which the public may be aware of. Cases were classified as either physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, or emotional abuse. The report defines the latter as "parental or adult behavior which causes prolonged disappointment leading to loss of self- confidence and prolonged anxiety in a child."

Sexual abuse cases were the most common, with 538 cases recorded during the three-year period. Eighty-seven percent of the victims were young girls.

Hamid wrote that the most saddening fact in many of these cases was that the abusers were largely people who were close to the victims -- 61 percent of the perpetrators were either the victims' fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, uncles or teachers.

But bringing these people before the law and punishing them remains a problem because Indonesia has yet to develop an adequate law on child sexual abuse.

Irwanto, a researcher on street children at Atmajaya Catholic University, said that the definition of child abuse in the Criminal Code is biased. The age for sexual consent is 15, while the Marriage Law stipulates that the minimum age at which women can get married is 16, he said.

The existing Criminal Code is too broad, covers only adult victims and does not give clear guidance on child abuse, he said.

Irwanto added that victims of sexual abuse often face skepticism from investigating police officers who disbelieve their reports, while society has a tendency to mock the victims.

Malaysia

Hamid said non-governmental organizations, the police, hospitals and the public must now work hand in hand to kick start a comprehensive program to overcome the problem of child abuse.

"We can follow Malaysia, which through the Kuala Lumpur hospital founded Team SCAN (Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect) in 1985," Hamid said.

He said SCAN worked to prevent child abuse through educating parents, abusers, the public and other concerned parties.

"The team was set up to detect, investigate, manage and record all cases of child abuse and neglect," he said in the report.

YKAI's Rahmita Pratama told The Jakarta Post on Friday that non-governmental organizations under the umbrella of the government-sponsored Children's Protection Institute have been discussing a national action plan to raise public awareness of the need to protect children.

The government inaugurated the institute in February to begin the process of drafting a plan to provide formal legal protection for abused and neglected children. The plan should be completed in a few months.

An activist from the Jakarta Social Institute (ISJ) said that child abuse and domestic violence had in many cases encouraged children to run away from home and live on the streets.

Ivonne Therik, 31, head of ISJ's Bureau of Children's Advocacy said that many street children had been physically abused by their parents.

Ivonne cited the case of 15-year-old Mansur, who fled to Jakarta from his home in South Lampung five years ago because of the repeated physical abuse which he suffered at the hands of his father, who works as a farmer. She said this had contributed to the development of violent tendencies which could be seen in Mansur's personality.

Last year Mansur fatally stabbed Dulgani, 15, a fellow street child, in the back of the head with a screwdriver after the latter had poked fun at his amputated leg. One of Mansur's legs was amputated after it was crushed by a train.

"He was sentenced to two years in prison by East Jakarta District Court in May, but we appealed and he is now under our supervision," Ivonne said.

Catholic priest Sandyawan Sumardi, who chairs ISJ, said that many children first ran to the streets to escape domestic violence.

But Sandyawan, who now also leads the Volunteers for Humanity, said the children would find life much more violent on the streets. However, he said that most chose not to return home due to the suppression which they received when living with their families.

"On the streets there are always alternatives. These children can move freely from one place to another if they need to escape violence perpetrated by the authorities or by hoodlums," Sandyawan said.

Sandyawan estimated that there are between 8,000 and 10,000 street children in Jakarta, most of whom live in railway stations, bus terminals and markets.