Children abused and their freedom taken away

By Tertiani Z.B. Simanjuntak

JAKARTA (JP): A sixteen-year-old girl from Kuningan, West Java, was put in prison for a year for a drugs offense. She was not a junkie. Isolation of the girl from the outside world was the only thing her parents sought from the imprisonment.

"The girl was made pregnant by her married boyfriend. Her parents then arranged for an abortion and for a way to ensure that the couple would not see each other any more," chief warden of Tangerang correctional institution for children, Arti Wirastuti, revealed on Saturday.

The story is just one example of child abuse cases given exposure during a discussion on preventing and overcoming child abuse in the family, where their freedom has been taken away by adults, whatever the reason behind it.

Children, who are defined as being 18 years old, suffer the most. Some have died through abuse, and most of the victims are infants.

Sexual abuse has recently made the headlines. The latest case involved a four-month-old baby girl, while the number of physical and emotional assaults on children actually reported are just the tip of an iceberg.

The issue of domestic violence has only recently begun to be discussed, having long been regarded as an "internal matter" between husband and wife. Increasing levels of violence have meant that children could not be shielded from the hard life faced by their parents.

The country has been hard hit by the economic and social crisis in recent years and now suffers from an unstable political condition, as the country makes the transition toward a more democratic state.

Psychiatrist Suryo Dharmono of Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital said that of all the child abuse cases he had handled, most of the victims were between five years and 10 years old, the vulnerable period where children became very active.

"It's the time when children make mistakes or are naughty, which can easily raise the anger of their parents or adults in the family," he told journalists after the discussion, which was organized by Mitra Perempuan women's crisis center.

He revealed that many patients brought to the hospital bore wounds and bruises to their body and suffered hidden distress as the result of the continuous assaults they took.

But, Suryo added, physicians often stop at giving medication to heal the wounds and do not try and deal with the mental and emotional disorder, in order to prevent subsequent abuse.

"Physicians should approach the patient and family to prevent further abuse. And if the abuse was from outsiders, then the physicians should report the case to the police," he said.

Legal expert and activist of the National Commission on Children Protection, Apong Herlina, said that the law enforcement apparatus had yet to protect children's rights, although the country had adopted an international convention to the Presidential Decree No. 36/1990, despite society still being ignorant about the issue.

"According to the convention, because of their immature physical and emotional state, children need special protection, which include legal protection for them before being born and after birth," she said.

She also urged society and the family to create a peaceful environment for the children and not to tolerate aggressive adults who will only perpetuate violence.

A teacher from elementary school Bukit Duri 10 in South Jakarta, Suryanto, revealed another form of abuse where children were forced to work to fulfill their family's needs, taking away their rights to education and to play.

"The misleading paradigm of education is also another form of abuse toward children, whereby they can be assessed by points they have collected through examinations, but not by their capability to survive, to be independent, and to mingle in society," Suryanto, who was a speaker in the discussion, added.

Noted education activist Ibu (Mother) Kasur said everything starts from the family.

"Members of a family should smile to each other and never use harsh words or fight in front of the children, especially when they are at an age to imitate their parents and take them for granted," she said.