MPR asserts that violence against people with disabilities must be addressed immediately
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Deputy Speaker of the MPR RI, Lestari Moerdijat, has emphasised that violence against people with disabilities must be urgently addressed collectively to realise the constitutional mandate for protecting all citizens.
“From the series of cases that have emerged, there is no other interpretation. Our disabled children are being left in the grip of systematic violence. This cannot be tolerated,” Lestari stated in a press release received in Jakarta on Monday.
She noted that the rate of violence against disabled children in Indonesia is at a worrying level, according to data from the 2024 National Survey on Children’s and Adolescents’ Life Experiences (SNPHAR).
She detailed that 83.85% of disabled children aged 13-17 have experienced at least one type of violence in their lifetime. In the last 12 months, the violence rate has surged dramatically from 36.10% to 64.57%.
Lestari highlighted a series of violence cases against people with disabilities, such as the incident involving a teenager in Karawang, West Java, in November 2025, who was killed by a mob after being accused of theft.
In February 2026, she continued, a young man in Lamongan, East Java, allegedly raped an intellectually disabled woman he knew through Instagram. Meanwhile, in January 2026, a sexual violence case against a child with mental retardation in South Lampung has yet to receive legal certainty.
According to Lestari, these cases indicate that the protection system is not yet fully optimal.
To reduce the number of violence cases against disabled children, concrete steps must be taken immediately by stakeholders. These steps include uncompromising law enforcement in cases involving people with disabilities.
“There should be no more pending cases or perpetrators set free because the victim is considered ‘imperfect’ legally,” Lestari said.
In addition, providing disability-friendly services in every technical implementing unit for women’s and children’s protection (UPTD PPA) and hospitals needs to be continuously improved to be accommodating for people with disabilities.
She also encouraged schools and families to become safe zones for people with disabilities.
“Training on early detection of violence for teachers and parents of disabled children must be carried out immediately. Do not wait for victims to fall,” said Lestari, who is also a member of Commission X of the DPR RI.
Efforts to change society’s perspective on people with disabilities are also deemed important. They must be viewed as equal individuals with the same rights, not as objects of pity or burdens.
“Society, especially people with disabilities, deserves protection. This is a constitutional mandate. This is about lives and the future of the nation’s children,” Lestari stated.