'Parents react too slowly to child abuse'

JAKARTA (JP): Parents and educators react too slowly to reports of child abuse, until it is impossible to prosecute suspected abusers, a criminologist said.

Purnianti, who heads the Criminology Institute at the University of Indonesia, said Saturday this is because parents and educators tend to protect those under suspicion.

"The police and courts would need evidence, which is almost impossible to gather when reporting occurs long after the abuse," Purnianti said after addressing a one-day seminar on sexual violence against children.

In most cases, the abuser is known to the family, she said, and the victims' story is usually ignored.

Mothers will protect their husbands or brothers, for instance.

But it is clear "they lack awareness of human rights regarding themselves and their children," she said.

The talks, attended by around 200 people, were organized by the Adik Irma Suryani Nasution Education Foundation.

A participant, Sarah, said the child may also protect the parent who was the abuser, which makes it more difficult to help the child.

Sarah said she is a member of Mitra Masyarakat Kota, a non- governmental organization dealing with, among other things, street children.

Purnianti said parents need to maintain warm relationships with children "or else, they will seek warmth elsewhere."

In such cases, she said, a child may not immediately resist to sexual approaches.

When a child reports unnatural approaches by a family member or outsider, parents and educators "must believe the child is not making something up," Purnianti said.

Parents, educators and investigators "need to increase sensitivity to children," she said.

Purnianti and psychologist Yati Utoyo Lubis both said parents must keep improving communication skills with children.

Yati said sex education, one of the tools a child needs to protect himself, would be easier with better communication.

"I agree with Purnianti that it is impossible that parents have no time at all," Yati said.

Other speakers were Lela E. Madjiah, a parent and reporter, and psychiatrist Dadang Hawari.

A participant, a teacher, said the sexual abuse of children had been exaggerated by media. He cited the case of a suspected pedophile, Robot Gedek, who has been charged with sexual abuse and the murder of 10 boys.

Purnianti said not all abusers are pedophiles.

The Director General of Social Welfare Promotion, I. Setyoko, said in his address child protection institutions are needed to prevent and handle sexual child abuse.

Data collected from media reports by the Indonesian Foundation for Child Welfare showed 56.3 percent of abusers last year and 70.3 percent of abusers this year were known to their victims.

In 1995, out of 279 cases, 115 abusers were acquaintances, 10 were teachers, 15 were fathers and 17 consisted of five grandfathers, nine uncles, two elder siblings and one relative.

This year, out of 185 cases, 93 abusers were acquaintances, 15 were teachers, 16 were fathers and six consisted of a grandfather, four uncles and a relative. (anr)