Protection of Children as Witnesses in Sexual Violence Cases in Pati City

Abstract

Children who are both victims and witnesses in a criminal justice process in cases of sexual violence often experience trauma a second time after the child becomes a victim and then traumatized by testifying before the perpetrators of sexual violence. Children as witnesses in cases of sexual violence also often experience threats and acts of violence from perpetrators of sexual violence, especially when the child is not under the supervision and protection of the LPSK. This often occurs in the Pati City area. This study aims to determine and analyze the provisions for the protection of children as witnesses in cases of sexual violence in Pati City. To identify and analyze the weaknesses and solutions in the implementation of the protection of children as witnesses in cases of sexual violence in Pati City. The type of legal research used is non-doctrinal. In this non-doctrinal legal research, law is conceptualized sociologically as an empirical phenomenon that can be observed in life. In terms of substance, law is seen as a social force that is empirical in form, but which is seen legally and works to pattern the actual behavior of citizens. Based on the research results, it is known that the protection of children as witnesses in cases of sexual violence in Pati City has been regulated both in the dimension of the mandate related to the nation and state's obligation to protect children as witnesses in cases of sexual violence and the mechanisms for protecting children as witnesses in cases of sexual violence. However, based on information from the Director of the National Advocacy Legal Aid Institute Pati, Maskuri Alfaty, who said that there are still 20 children who are victims and witnesses in cases of sexual violence who are victims of threats during the legal process in Pati City.