Beware Of Child Grooming, The Implementation Of Sexual Harassment In Children

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The Indonesian people are excited again with news of sexual harassment. This time the victim is the daughter of singer Pinkan Mambo, Michelle Ashley. The 17-year-old teenager first shared her bitter experience in Nadia Alaydrus's broadcast on 27 July.

What Michelle said was very surprising, she admitted to experiencing sexual harassment for several years, precisely in the period 2018-2021. Even more heartbreaking, the perpetrator who had the heart to do it was Pinkan Mambo's second husband, Steve Wantania, aka his own stepfather.

"It happened (sexual harassment) from 2018 to 2021. But there was a time difference. After five months of events, I was only able to feel up. My mother's husband had time to leave the house, but then came back again," said Michelle opening her dream with her stepfather.

Michelle Ashley admitted that she was devastated and traumatized. She didn't even continue her education to a higher level due to sexual harassment. At the age of 17, Michelle admitted that she only held an elementary school diploma.

Michelle is only one of many children in Indonesia who experienced the tragic fate of being a victim of sexual harassment. The Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA) declared Indonesia an emergency for sexual violence against children. Based on the records of the Ministry of PPPA, cases of sexual violence against children reached 9,588 in 2022. This figure experienced a significant increase compared to the previous year, namely 4,162 cases.

"We are reminded that there is one condition with the emphasis that Indonesia has an emergency for sexual violence," said Deputy for Child Protection at the Ministry of PPPA, Nahar.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Indonesian Child Protection Agency, Seto Mulyadi, said the increase in cases of sexual abuse of children on the one hand should be seen as progress. According to the man who is familiarly called Kak Seto, the case of sexual abuse of children is an iceberg phenomenon, which can be seen a little on the surface when it actually existed a long time ago.

"In the current era, the public's awareness of child protection has actually increased, resulting in a lot of reporting. Actually, there have been a lot of reports, but in the past it was because of fear, out of shame, because they were worried that they would be isolated, they did not report. But now public awareness about child protection is progressing," said Kak Seto to VOI.

Kak Seto also called for sexual violence against children to be stopped from upstream, starting from the smallest environment. Moreover, the perpetrators of violence are often close people. People's concern for those around them is expected to help close the space for child predators.

Currently, a child protection section is needed from upstream, starting from the level of community harmony, making it easier to report victims. As a preventive step, it is necessary to disseminate information to parents to protect children and women, especially because many of the perpetrators are closest people.

Cases of sexual abuse against children never seem to stop decorating national media coverage. This is a reality that is far from proud, because it means that the right to feel safe for children is still difficult to fulfill.

The threat of severe punishment to perpetrators of sexual harassment seems unable to stop the intention to sexually harass. Perpetrators can be subject to criminal threats for violating the 76E market of Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection with a maximum penalty of 15 years and a maximum fine of IDR 5 billion.

Sexual violence that occurred in the domestic realm is not the only time this has happened. In July, the Kuningan Police arrested AW who sexually abused two children. AW committed sexual abuse on the first stepdaughter for five years from 2012 to 2017, when she was only nine years old. It did not stop there, AW continued his actions to the victim's younger brother for three years from 2020 to 2020. At that time the victim was still 13 years old.

Ironically, cases of sexual harassment experienced by children also often occur in educational institutions, such as what happened to 13 elementary school students in Minahasa, North Sulawesi. The perpetrator is an honorary teacher with the initials CA (29 years old) and is currently being detained by the North Sulawes Police.

However, one of the most causing a stir was the disclosure of the rape case committed by Herry Wirawan against 13 of his students at the Madani Boarding School Islamic Boarding School Islamic Boarding School, Cibiru District, Bandung City in 2021. He raped since 2016 with a total of 13 students.

Of these, nine babies were born out of eight victims aged 14 to 20 years. As a result of his actions, Herry Wirawan was sentenced to death by the Bandung High Court Judge and paid restitution to 13 of his victims, totaling Rp. 300 million.

The Deputy for Child Special Protection at the Ministry of PPA, Nahar, said that cases of sexual violence in educational institutions could not be separated from the imbalance in power relations between the perpetrators and the victims. The victims do not have the power to fight the actions taken by the perpetrators, because they are accompanied by threats.

Many cases of sexual violence occurring in educational institutions are due to the power relationship possessed by educators and there is also a large dependence of students to be able to advance to school or graduate from school with good grades. The position of students is very weak, especially since the perpetrators also usually threaten the victims. It takes awareness and vigilance from fellow educators if you see any changes in the behavior of their students or suspicious actions of unscrupulous educators. Parents are also expected to always communicate with their children and continue to explain to their children that should not be touched by others," said Nahar.

Apart from the death penalty imposed on Herry Wirawan, Kak Seto said that there were still many inappropriate punishments given to child predators. For this reason, he appealed to the entire community to dare to speak up and monitor sexual crimes against children.

"There are still many unsatisfactory penalties, for that we ask the media to control, the public to speak up, dare to monitor. We also hope that the judges will discuss with their children, the police will be friends with their children, so that decisions in this court can defend children's rights," said Kak Seto.

In the midst of the rise of cases of sexual harassment against children, parents have an important role in preventing the case. Parents must be sensitive to child groundbreaking issues, which are considered dangerous because they have the potential to cause sexual harassment and violence against children. The term child groundbreaking may still sound foreign to the Indonesian people. Child groundbreaking is a strategy that is used to influence a person's feelings, emotions, and thoughts. Child groundbreaking usually chooses targets for children and adolescents who are considered vulnerable to having family problems or self-confidence.

Perpetrators of child groundbreaking are trying to approach the target by paying intense attention and special treatment with the aim of building close relationships. Thus, it becomes easier for children to obey and obey all orders and desires. Harassment and sexual exploitation of children is one of the negative impacts of child groundbreaking.

Child groundbreaking itself is done with various modes, such as providing food, inviting children to play games excessively, often doing excessive physical touch such as stroking their heads, holding, hugging, or holding their children.

Usually children who become victims feel trapped and unable to fight the power of the perpetrators, especially if there is a big age difference. In addition, threats from the perpetrators also often make victims unable to fight back. To be able to prevent child groundbreaking, steps can be taken such as teaching children about personal boundaries, as well as teaching how to identify suspicious behavior from adults.

Children are the nation's future, which must be protected by their rights. Therefore, it is very important to always monitor all actions that are very dangerous and can damage the future of children. As a result of child groundbreaking, children who are victims can experience a number of negative impacts, such as difficulty sleeping, difficulty concentrating in school, to stress.

"Some of the common psychological impacts include Posttraumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD), Depression, anxiety and fear, low self-confidence and self-esteem, withdrawing from the environment, eating disorders, sleep disorders, and negative emotions that are difficult to control," psychologist Kasandra Sutanto told VOI.