Jakarta – The National Commission for Child Protection attributed the increasing number of crimes committed by children to trauma related to human rights abuses.
The Justice and Human Rights Ministry revealed that 5,760 children received jail sentences this year, up from 5,630 children last year.
Commission chairman Seto Mulyadi said that many places in the country did not support the growth of children, as they were frequently exposed to violence and humiliation. He said this occurred mostly because of rampant poverty and other unresolved social problems.
"Instead of being role models for children, parents, teachers and law enforcers commit acts of violence and humiliation against children," he told The Jakarta Post over the phone on Tuesday. "This situation often scares them. They become traumatized and think that it's OK if they do the same thing."
He said that education in Indonesia was not friendly toward children. "There are still many teachers that do not protect children. Instead, they commit violence to force children to obey them," he said.
The Justice and Human Rights Ministry signed Tuesday a joint decree with the Social Services Ministry, the State Women's Empowerment Ministry, the Child Protection Agency, the Attorney General's Office and the National Police on the handling of children before the legal system.
The decree followed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with similar content signed on Dec. 15 between the ministries and the National Police.
State Women's Empowerment Minister said the joint decree would emphasize rehabilitation rather than retribution in the handling of child delinquency cases. "We will use justice, legal, moral and social approaches," she was quoted as saying by Antara state news agency.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono witnessed the signing of the decree held at the Beautiful Indonesian Miniature Park (TMII) as part of a ceremony to mark Mother's Day.
Yudhoyono said the decree was a serious step taken by the government to minimize violence against women and children. "Children may not understand the consequences of breaking the law," he said.
The commission secretary general, Arist Merdeka Sirait, told the Post the commission had recorded that 1,582 children had committed crimes this year.
He said that 52 percent of those children had stolen property because they needed money for food, 21 percent were related to drug abuse and the remaining 17 percent were related to sexual abuse and gambling. "We also have to ensure that judges and prosecutors protect children during court trials," he said.
On Nov. 23, Arist told the Post the number of cases of violence against children at school had increased to 326 in the period between January and June this year, from 75 cases in the same period last year. Last year's total number of cases reached only 148.
Arist said the most reported cases were sexual abuse, followed by physical and psychological abuse. He added that such violence mostly occurred at the elementary and junior high school level.