Juridical Analysis of the Criminal Act of Sexual Violence of Children from the Perspective of Criminal Law in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.28918/muwazah.v17i2.10252Abstract
This study focuses on analyzing the enforcement of criminal law in cases of sexual intercourse with children in Indonesia, with particular attention to the balance between legal certainty and victim-oriented justice. The research aims to examine the extent to which criminal justice practices have accommodated the interests of child victims, to identify the limitations of a retributive approach, and to propose an alternative conceptual framework based on the theory of Dignified Justice.This research employs a normative legal research method using statutory, conceptual, and theoretical approaches, complemented by secondary empirical analysis of Decision of the Kuningan District Court Number 5/PID.SUS/2024/PN.KNG. Data were collected through a literature review of primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials, including legislation, court decisions, reputable international journals, and relevant academic literature. Data validity was ensured through source triangulation and theoretical triangulation to maintain consistency, reliability, and analytical accuracy. The findings indicate that sentencing in this case reflects normative firmness and proportionality in accordance with positive law. However, the criminal justice process remains dominated by an offender-oriented approach and has not explicitly incorporated victim recovery mechanisms, such as restitution and psychological rehabilitation. As a result, the justice delivered tends to be merely symbolic from the victim’s perspective. This study also identifies that sexual crimes against children are influenced by a combination of internal offender-related factors and structural external factors. From the perspective of Dignified Justice, this research emphasizes the urgency of reformulating child criminal law to integrate offender punishment, victim recovery, and structural prevention as unified objectives of criminal justice.
Keywords:
References
Aisyah, S., & Rofiq, A. (2023). Pemulihan Korban Kekerasan Seksual Anak Dalam Perspektif Keadilan Restoratif Dan Gender. Muwazah: Jurnal Kajian Gender, 15(2), 145–160.
Alkan, S., & Tekmanlı, H. H. (2021). Economic strain, unemployment, and crime: A comparative criminological analysis. Journal of Criminal Justice, 73, 101812. https://doi.org/ 10.1016/j.jcrimjus.2021.101812
Annual Review of Criminology. (2023). Sexual violence, prevention strategies, and criminal justice responses. Annual Review of Criminology, 6, 289–314. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-criminol-030421-042215
Ashworth, A., & Horder, J. (2022). Principles of criminal law (9th ed.). Oxford University Press.
Bates, E. A. (2024). Long-term psychological impacts of sexual violence and criminal justice responses. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 39(3–4), NP1650–NP1675. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/08862605231112345
Convention on the Rights of the Child. (1989). United Nations General Assembly Resolution 44/25.
Daly, K. (2021). Sexual violence and justice: Victims, offenders and the justice system. Theoretical Criminology, 25(2), 217–235. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362480620943994
Doak, J. (2020). Victims’ rights, victim-centred justice and restorative approaches. International Review of Victimology, 26(1), 5–24. https://doi.org/10.1177/0269758019886264
Finkelhor, D., Turner, H. A., & Hamby, S. (2022). Sexual abuse in the digital age: New risks and prevention strategies. Child Abuse & Neglect, 129, 105682. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. chiabu.2022.105682
Friedman, L. M., & Zeligman, M. (2024). Secondary victimization and procedural justice in sexual violence cases. Human Rights Law Review, 24(1), 45–69. https://doi.org/10.1093 /hrlr/ngad037
Hidayati, N. (2021). Kekerasan seksual terhadap anak dalam perspektif gender dan perlindungan hak anak. Muwazah: Jurnal Kajian Gender, 13(1), 1–15.
Livingstone, S., & Third, A. (2023). Children and online sexual risks: Rethinking protection frameworks. New Media & Society, 25(4), 1063–1081. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/ 14614448211063148
McGlynn, C., & Westmarland, N. (2022). Kaleidoscopic justice: Sexual violence and victim-centred approaches. Social & Legal Studies, 31(3), 387–406. https://doi.org/10.1177/0964 6639 211036813
McGlynn, C., Westmarland, N., & Godden, N. (2023). Justice, harm and recovery in sexual violence cases. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 43(2), 350–372. https://doi.org/10.1093 /ojls/ gqac041
Miller, S. L., & Manzer, J. L. (2021). Serious violent crime and child protection frameworks. Crime, Law and Social Change, 75(4), 357–375. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-020-09931-2
Packer, H. L. (1968). The limits of the criminal sanction. Stanford University Press.
Peacock, K. (2022). Measuring justice: Beyond punishment in criminal justice systems. Law & Society Review, 56(2), 254–276. https://doi.org/10.1111/lasr.12612
Sampson, R. J. (2022). Social disorganization theory and crime prevention revisited. Criminology, 60(3), 433–455. https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-9125.12321
Seto, M. C. (2021). Pedophilia and sexual offending against children: Theory, assessment, and intervention. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 17, 417–444. https://doi.org/10.1146 /annurev-clinpsy-081219-093409
Syaufi, A. (2017). Restitusi bagi korban tindak pidana kekerasan seksual terhadap anak di Indonesia. Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan, 47(3), 389–410.
Tonry, M. (2022). Punishment and crime prevention. Oxford University Press.
Turner, H. A., Shattuck, A., Hamby, S., & Finkelhor, D. (2023). Long-term consequences of childhood sexual victimization. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 64(5), 623–635. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13678
Ward, T., & Beech, A. R. (2020). The integrated theory of sexual offending—Revisited. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 55, 101375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.avb.2020.101375
Downloads
Published
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Muwazah

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

