Legal Protection For Children As Victims Of Sexual Violence

Abstract

Children are a trust from God Almighty who need to be looked after, protected, and their physical and mental safety maintained. It is our shared responsibility, especially for parents at home and teachers at school. This is intended so that children have good attitudes and behavior from an early age, adolescence to adulthood who are able to stand alone and be responsible in order to face the continuation of their lives and future, living in a household and being loved by their husbands, children, and other family members. Children are part of the younger generation who have the potential to inherit the ideals of the nation's struggle, and they need to be nurtured and protected to ensure comprehensive physical, mental, and social growth and development (Taufik, 2013:15). Therefore, every country in the world must pay attention to problems and solutions that are acceptable to children to provide a sense of security, protection, and justice. Children play a crucial role in life. When a child becomes a victim of crime, it can damage their future and negatively impact their future generations, as so many children become victims of sexual violence. One of the causes is a lack of parental supervision. Children's human rights, which are part of human rights, are guaranteed and protected by both national and international law, as stipulated in the Constitution and the United Nations Convention of December 10, 1948. Provisions regarding human rights in Indonesia are not only stated in Articles 28 A to 28 J of the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia but also stated in Law Number 39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights.  Furthermore, children's rights are also included in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which is a legally and politically binding agreement between various countries that regulates matters related to children's rights. This convention is a United Nations convention that protects children's rights and is part of a broad international instrument signed by 192 countries. Indonesia is one of 192 countries that have ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child.