Children abused and their freedom taken away

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.