T

he government and the House of Representatives kicked off on Tuesday a discussion to amend the 2002 Child Protection Law in order to guarantee the rights of children regardless of background, including those who have links to terrorism.

'€œThe current law excludes protection for children who have links to terrorism. They must be protected from any stigma. Also, we must protect them from dangerous ideologies that are banned here,'€ Women'€™s Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Linda Amalia Sari said on the sidelines of a discussion with House Commission VIII overseeing religious and social affairs on Tuesday.

Linda added that revisions to the bill would also include providing rehabilitation and counseling programs for children caught up in terrorism.

The revision also aims to crack down on pedophiles and sex crimes against children, obliging central and regional governments to provide physical and psychological treatment for victims of sex crimes.

The draft revision also aims to protect children from legal procedures, mandating central and regional governments to provide protection and assistance for children undergoing legal processing from the very early stage.

'€œWe want government at all levels to get involved in the efforts to protect children. So this bill will mandate decentralized efforts in protecting our children,'€ said Commission VIII chairperson Ida Fauziah of the National Awakening Party (PKB).

Once approved, the bill is expected to reduce sex crimes against children.

A recent study by the Women'€™s Empowerment and Child Protection Ministry and Social Affairs Ministry revealed that 1.5 million children between the ages of 14 and 17 were victims of sex crimes last year.

The majority of them, 900,000 of the total victims, were boys.

The study also found that one in 13 teenage boys experienced sexual violence, while it was less common among teenage girls, with one in 18.

According to the study, a lack of information leaves children prone to sex crimes, which are mostly perpetrated by people close to them, from relatives to family friends.

In order to protect child victims of rape, Linda said her ministry would strive for the inclusion of Article 45 in the draft revision, which would allow abortion for rape victims, but only with careful monitoring and performed under strict medical procedures.

'€œWe don'€™t intend to legalize abortion. It is only aimed at giving a solution for children who are raped so that they can move on with their lives,'€ Linda said.

In order to give a deterrent effect for crimes against children, the draft bill proposes to increase the prison term from three to five years and levy a Rp 5 billion (US$424,760) fine.

Ida of Commission VIII said the amended bill would also guarantee the rights of children regardless of the marital status of their parents.

The amendment also aims to protect the rights of children who marry young.

'€œWe emphasized '€˜regardless of marital status'€™ in the draft because we want to provide protection for all children, including those born to parents who fail to register their marriage,'€ said Ida.