Journalists Must Obey The Rules Reporting Children In Legal Cases

Chairman of PWI Central Competency Commission, Kamsul Hasan (VOI)

JAKARTA - Chairman of the PWI Central Competency Commission, Kamsul Hasan, asked journalists to be careful in making news about a child who is dealing with a legal case.

This is because there is a threat of imprisonment if journalists reveal the identity of a child who is in legal trouble. This was stated by Kamsul when giving training materials to VOI.

Kamsul said, the identity of the child, the victim's child, and / or the child of the witness must be kept secret in the news in printed or electronic media. This is regulated in Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System (SPPA).

"The identity includes the name of the child, the name of the parent, the address in the form of the village to the house number, face,

and other things that can reveal the child's identity, "said Samsul on Thursday, November 19.

If there is content that reveals the child's identity, journalists can be subject to two types of crimes, namely Law Number 40 of 1999 concerning the Press and Law on SPPA. Kamsul said that if the determination of violations was based solely on the Press Law, it would only be subject to administrative sanctions by the Press Council or KPI.

However, victims or victims' families can report journalists who disclose the identity of the child using the SPPA Law if they do not accept the disclosure of the identity.

"The SPPA Law is a complaint offense, so that only the victims and victims' families can report violations of this case. Meanwhile, the community or activists can only act as a companion or advocacy team," said the Press Council expert.

The sanctions that can be imposed for violating the SPPA Law are a maximum of 5 years in prison and a fine of IDR 500 million. Waterfall accountability system. This means that each person who is subject to punishment can be more than one.

"Then, the expiration time (after time) is 12 years. So, as long as the news about the disclosure of the child's identity has not been broadcast for 12 years, then criminal acts can still be charged," he said.