LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN AS VICTIMS OF THE CRIMINAL OFFENSE OF SEXUAL MOLESTATION FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF INDONESIAN SPECIAL CRIMINAL LAW

Abstract

Sexual violence against children, particularly the criminal offense of molestation (pencabulan), constitutes an extraordinary crime that threatens children's growth, psychological health, and future as a vulnerable group. This article aims to analyze the special criminal law framework governing child molestation in Indonesia, its elements and penalties, sentence-aggravation mechanisms, and the protection of child victims' rights. The study employs a normative-juridical method with a statute and conceptual approach, examining the Criminal Code, Law Number 35 of 2014 on the Amendment of Law Number 23 of 2002 on Child Protection, Law Number 17 of 2016, Government Regulation Number 70 of 2020, and related special-criminal-law literature. The findings show that the regulation of child molestation is lex specialis, departing from the general Criminal Code, with the offense's elements comprising acts violating decency committed through violence, threats, deceit, or persuasion directed at a child, as regulated in Articles 76D and 76E in conjunction with Articles 81 and 82 of the Child Protection Law, carrying a special minimum sentence of five years' imprisonment up to the death penalty, with possible aggravation through chemical castration and electronic monitoring devices for certain offenders. Beyond punitive measures, the legal system also provides for the restoration of victims' rights through restitution, psychosocial rehabilitation, and witness protection. Challenges include low reporting rates, evidentiary limitations, slow psychological recovery processes for victims, and ongoing ethical and human-rights debates over chemical-castration sanctions. The study concludes that effective legal protection for child victims of molestation requires strengthened law enforcement guided by the best interests of the child, without disregarding the principles of legal certainty and human rights for all parties.