W

hile law enforcers and experts have come out in support of the regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) on sexual violence against children, others have proposed alternative solutions to curb sex offending. Child psychologist Seto Mulyadi said on Friday the stern punishments contained in the recently issued Perppu could not in themselves solve the main cause of the problem, societal neglect.

Seto said the administration of President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, apart from imposing more severe punishments for convicted rapists, should consider addressing this issue by deploying a special unit in every neighborhood to monitor any signs of irregular behavior related to violence against children in the area.

“Several cases of violence against children, such as the tragic death of Engeline in Bali last year and the rape and murder of a 14-year old in Bengkulu, which was only reported by news outlets last month, happened because society had turned a blind eye to them,” Seto told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview.

In Engeline’s case, Seto said, the neighborhood had been aware that she was being “treated inhumanely” before her body was found buried in the backyard of the house of her adoptive mother, Margriet Christina Megawe, in Denpasar.

“Meanwhile, residents and the local administration of Rejang Lebong, Bengkulu, have acknowledged that it was not secure for a girl to walk alone at night, but they did nothing ,” Seto said, referring to the gang-rape case in Bengkulu.

In the wake of the Bengkulu case activists and lawmakers called on the government to draw up a consolidated policy to prevent sexual violence, with the latter claiming that the severe punishments for child rapists in the Perppu, such as chemical castration, longer jail terms and the death penalty, were the best possible way to deal with the issue.

The Perppu also stipulates that rapists who are chemically castrated must take part in a rehabilitation program administered by the government.

Seto said the government had to ensure that rape victims would receive psychological therapy to heal their trauma. “Oftentimes, they refuse to undergo treatment because the cost is beyond them,” he said.

The child protection activist added that Jokowi could use the opportunity of National Children’s Day on July 23 to strengthen protection of the nation’s children from any kind of violence, similar to what happened during the Soeharto presidency in 1997.

“In 1997, the then government created a national movement on child protection, which was followed by the establishment of a child protection agency,” Seto said, adding that after the Reform era, the momentum continued with the establishment of the National Commission on Child Protection and the 2002 Child Protection Law. “But the impetus had faded away a long time before the case in Bengkulu.”

Separately, Sri Nurherwati of the National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) told the Post on Friday that the commission would not change its position in regard to the punishments stipulated in the Perppu saying, “We still reject chemical castration as a punishment.”

Meanwhile, National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said on Friday the police would disseminate the Perppu to every local police office nationwide, especially to officers handling sexual abuse cases.

He added that the National Police’s medical and health center was also willing to carry out the chemical castration of rapists.

He said doctors who would be assigned to chemically castrate the rapists should not be afraid of violating the Indonesian code of medical ethics because they would do it under the protection of the regulation.