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Teen Prisoners in Indonesia
Luh De Suriyani, The Jakarta Post, Denpasar | Wed, 09/01/2010 9:20 AM | Bali
The Bali chapter of the Indonesian Commission for Child
Protection (KPAID) says that restorative justice must govern
local authorities when handling juvenile offenders implicated in
minor crimes.
KPAID chairman Anak Ayu Sri Wahyuni said most of Bali’s
underage prisoners are susceptible to violent physical, sexual
and mental abuse.
Wahyuni added that most of the isle’s teenage inmates were
currently suffering from depression that could lead to serious
mental problems.
Wahyuni also said that local authorities have been denying the
youths access to education and psychological therapy.
“Bali’s legal authorities have been very slow in
implementing restorative justice for teenage offenders, which is
actually provided for in a joint statement of six ministers on
handling of juvenile offenders,” Wahyuni said.
In 2009, six ministers and high-ranking legal institutions
comprised of the Supreme Court, the Justice and Human Rights
Minister, the Social Services Minister, the Attorney General, the
National Police chief and the Women’s Empowerment and Child
Protection Minister issued a joint decree on the juvenile justice
system.
The decree stipulated that restorative justice must be applied to
teenage criminal offenders.
According to the International Youth Justice Board, restorative
justice addresses the harm caused by a criminal offence or a
non-criminal incident.
Restorative justice stipulates that through structured
communications, victims and perpetrators can discuss how they
were affected by an incident and can explore what needs to happen
to repair the harm caused.
The joint ministerial decree also urged local authorities to
improve the situation and conditions of children and teenagers
facing legal problems using formal legal justice and also social
and moral justice.
Indonesia already passed the law on youth and child justice in
1997, though some experts said it was “child-unfriendly”.
Juvenile justice still falls under the nation’s criminal
justice system, which has a general approach towards crime.
She said that young inmates and adult inmates at Bali’s
Karangasem prison were treated alike.
According to Justice and Human Rights Ministry statistics,
Indonesia incarcerates 5,760 children and teenagers.
Twenty-seven youth offenders are currently incarcerated in Bali:
14 at the youth juvenile detention in Karangasem, East Bali, and
13 in other prisons on the island, where they are imprisoned in
the general prison population with adult offenders.
Bali Justice Office spokesman Sumanto said that juvenile
detention has improved in Bali. “We want to provide access
to education but we still face obstacles from the social affairs
office on minimum requirements for non-formal education,” he
said.