MPR Deputy Calls for Concrete Steps to Curb Violence Against Children with Disabilities
Deputy Speaker of the MPR RI, Lestari Moerdijat (Rerie), stated that the emergency phase of violence against persons with disabilities requires joint and immediate concrete steps. This aims to realise protection for all citizens as mandated by the 1945 Constitution.
From the series of cases that have emerged, there is no other interpretation. Our children with disabilities are being left in the grip of systematic violence,” said Rerie in a written statement on Monday (13/4/2026).
“This cannot be tolerated,” she added.
Data from the 2024 National Survey on the Life Experiences of Children and Adolescents (SNPHAR) records that the rate of violence against children with disabilities in Indonesia is at a worrying level.
As many as 83.85% of children with disabilities aged 13-17 years have experienced at least one type of violence throughout their lives. In the last 12 months, the violence rate has surged dramatically from 36.10% to 64.57%.
A series of violence cases involving children with disabilities frequently occur. In November 2025, a disabled teenager in Karawang, West Java, was killed by a mob for being accused of theft without evidence.
In January 2026, in South Lampung, a case of sexual violence against a child with intellectual disability has been unresolved for over a year with no legal certainty.
Meanwhile, in February 2026, a young man in Lamongan, East Java, raped an intellectually disabled woman he knew through Instagram.
According to Rerie, several such cases indicate failures in the existing protection system. Children with disabilities are not only vulnerable but also neglected by authorities and society.
“Several concrete steps must be immediately taken by stakeholders to reduce the number of violence cases against children with disabilities,” explained Rerie.
Those steps, said Rerie, include uncompromising law enforcement against cases involving persons with disabilities.
“There should be no more pending cases or perpetrators set free because the victim is considered ‘imperfect’ legally,” Rerie emphasised.
Rerie added that in addition, the provision of disability-friendly services in every Regional Technical Implementation Unit for Women’s and Children’s Protection (UPTD PPA) and hospitals must continue to be improved to be accommodating towards persons with disabilities.
Rerie also encouraged schools and families to become safe zones for persons with disabilities.
“Training on early detection of violence for teachers and parents of children with disabilities must be carried out immediately. Do not wait for victims to fall,” said the member of Commission X of the DPR RI.
Rerie also hopes that various efforts will be made to change society’s perspective on persons with disabilities. According to her, persons with disabilities must be viewed as equal individuals with the same rights as others, not as objects of pity or burdens.
“Society, especially persons with disabilities, deserves protection. This is a constitutional mandate. This is about lives and the future of the nation’s children,” she concluded.