From Witnesses, Victims To Perpetrators, 19 Children Faced With Law In Bengkulu Receive Assistance From The Regency Government

BENGKULU - The Regency Government (Pemkab) Mukomuko noted that it had accompanied 19 children in its area in conflict with the law (ABH) in the last nine months or since January 2023. "As many as 19 ABHs who were accompanied were both children as perpetrators, victims, and witnesses," said the Head of the Population Control Service, Family Planning, Women's Empowerment, and Child Protection of Mukomuko Regency, Vivi Novriani in his statement, Wednesday, September 20, confiscated by Antara.

He said, of the 19 ABHs, as many as 14 children were victims of sexual violence, the rest of the children stumbled on drug cases, and the children as witnesses. Then of these 19 ABHs, he said, quite high ABHs occurred in the Air Rami and Ipuh sub-districts compared to other sub-districts. He said, then the agency's task was to accompany children in conflict with the law to ensure their psychology whether they felt inferior because cases like this were stored in the child's memory. He ensured that there were no cases of violence against minors in this area who were peaceful, all of them continued in accordance with applicable regulations.

He said, because the trend of cases of violence against children in this area in 2023 increased compared to the previous year, so that the agency cooperated with the Kejari and the police to make preventive efforts. "We are working with the Kejari and the police to conduct socialization in several schools, and this year at five high school and junior high schools, that's a preventive effort," he said.

He explained that his agency held a socialization to provide understanding to children that the trend of cases of violence against children increased, and they were given an understanding of the rules of law. Meanwhile, he revealed, the perpetrators of violence against minors in this area are the majority of people closest to victims, or these perpetrators are not far from their environment.

Meanwhile, the cause of cases of sexual violence against children, according to him, is due to the influence of cellphones and the lack of parental supervision of their children. He said, the age of children in conflict with the law in this area is both as perpetrators, victims, and witnesses ranging from 13-16 years.