Cases Of Rape And Murder Of Junior High School Students In Palembang: Why Are Children Getting Sadistic?

Psychologist Elly Risman said father has an important role in parenting. (Unsplash)

JAKARTA The fate of AA (13), who died in a pathetic world after being raped and murdered by four minors, is still a hot topic of conversation. Children's behavior, which has become more sadistic lately, has caused horror among the public. What's wrong so that it makes children able to do things beyond reason?

AA was found dead in Talang Kericil, Palembang, on Sunday (1/9/2024). This student who was still in junior high school lost her life after being strangled and was later raped by four underage perpetrators, namely IS (16), MZ (13), MS (12), and AS (12).

What these four minors have done is arguably something that cannot be accepted with normal people's reasoning. How is it possible for minors to be able to take such actions?

But if you want to be traced, the recent killings and rapes of Palembang are actually not the only terrible events that the perpetrators are minors. This is an unpleasant fact. Children who should focus on learning to organize the future actually become criminals, whose crimes say most people are beyond reason.

Before it was made sad with the actions of four perpetrators who had the heart to rape and kill AA, the public had often been presented with unpleasant news, which disturbed the peace of the community.

In May 2024, for example, netizens were shocked by the news that Aldelia, an elementary school student in Padang Pariaman who died after being burned by her friend at school during her tenure. Then in September 2023, elementary school students in Gresik looked at their friends' eyes until they were blind. Then in May 2021, cases of sexual harassment occurred in the Koja area, North Jakarta. According to the police, the victims and perpetrators were both minors.

"The perpetrators and victims are both minors. The range is 11-13 years," explained North Jakarta Metro Police Chief Kombes Guruh Arif Darmawan in October 2021.

That still doesn't include a series of bullying cases in schools that almost recur every year. Seeing this series of cases, which are arguably terrible, many of us are wondering what makes these children even more sadistic?

Senior psychologist Elly Risman said Indonesia was facing a parenting disaster. According to him, this parenting disaster occurred due to the fatherless or the absence of a father figure in a family. In other words, father is only present in physical form but his role is not felt.

The absence of the role of the father has been caused by us being trapped in an old culture that father is a breadwinner. In fact, according to Elly Risman, father has an important role in the family. Father is a child identification figure, but because of the old cultural trap, this role was not able to be carried out by father.

Meanwhile, child psychologist Novita Tandry said this incident was a strong warning for all of us as educators, as teachers, that the world had changed. The parenting pattern used in the past can no longer be used in today's era. In this digital era, pornography has really become a scourge for children.

"If we are negligent and we allow these children to be unsupervised, without control by using this gadget, he (the gadget) will replace our duties as parents. One example is violence, rape, which occurs," said Novita.

In almost every case where the perpetrators are children, the pressure for them to be punished is being called to the fullest. This call came out because what these children did was considered to exceed the reasoning of most adults. Cruel, sadistic, and brutal, said forensic psychologist Reza Indragiri Amriel, describing juvenile delinquency in today's era.

For the rape and murder cases of junior high school students in Palembang, three perpetrators, namely MZ (13), MS (12), and AS (12) were repatriated. The three perpetrators were previously taken to a child rehabilitation center in Ogan Ilir, after being questioned by the police, before finally being sent home to their respective parents.

Reza said that in his conscience he expects severe punishment for the cruelty, brutality of these children, regardless of the age he hopes can provide a direct and indirect deterrent effect.

"A direct deterrent effect is a deterrent effect for these perpetrators, and it is not immediately hoped that this will not be imitated by other children," said Reza.

He added that the desire for severe punishment to be applied to children who commit criminal acts must be corrected because of the Child Criminal Justice System Law (UU SPPA). This law, said Reza, since the first word has invited all of us not to look at children who commit criminal acts with a burden of revenge, anger, hurt, and the like. The conscience of the people who conflict with the law in Indonesia creates an inner conflict.

"But the law is in a hurry to remind me, remind all of us, to view children as human beings have a future. So that our job, said this law, is to help them, to accompany them towards a better future, so that one day they become more civilized, more responsible adults," added Reza.