Jakarta – Child advocates on Saturday (07/05) warned the government to take serious preventative action against child sex crimes, rather than focusing on law revisions imposing harsher personalities on offenders.

A bill promising tougher punishment for sexual violence is being deliberated at the House of Representatives, with a number of ministers urging for its immediate issuance.

The calls have been mounting since the widespread publication of a gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl by 14 male attackers – many of whom were her age – last month in Bengkulu.

The case follows several high profile violence against women and girls, including the murder and mutilation of a pregnant 34-year-old woman last month in Tangerang, Banten, and the sexual assault and murder of 9-year-old Putri Nur Fauziah in October.

"Such incidents keep on recurring but the state never wishes to learn," National Commission on Child Protection chairman Arist Merdeka Sirait said Saturday, as quoted by Kompas.com. "The root causes should be looked for."

"Think of what we can do to break the chain of sexual violence and don't just debate over the punishment," Arist added.

Several government officials have recently called for the death penalty against sex offenders, believing it could effectively set a deterrent and reduce the number of rampant cases of sexual violence.

Others have meanwhile called for chemical castration against perpetrators, a penalty which the government is currently deliberating under a regulation in lieu of law that is expected to be issued soon. "Law revisions could lead to a change in behavior but programs to prevent sexual violence should also be run," Ali Aulia Ramli of Unicef Indonesia said.

Among others, Ali pointed the low education and economic statuses as the drivers of sexual violence. "This is complex and there is no single factor," Ali said. "We should look to the values upheld by society and determine to what extend they could prevent such offenses."

Source: http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/advocates-urge-govt-focus-child-sex-crime-prevention/