The Government of Indonesia (GoI) is committed to making children one of the central focus of its policy documents. With limited resources, prioritizing children also comes with calculated allocations in areas that promise the best return. This adds to the complexity for children whose behavior is not in line with general preconceptions about how children should behave, including children in contact with the law (CICL). On the other hand, aspects of child vulnerabilities present complexities that might put some children at higher risk, leading them to be in contact with the criminal justice system. Having in contact with the law may negatively affect children’s health, education, and wellbeing outcomes, blocking them from life opportunities, and exposing them to violence and discrimination.
The GoI adopted Law 11/2012 on Juvenile Justice System (“JJS Law”) to address those complexities by introducing a specialized, inclusive procedure to protect children in contact with the law (CICL). The year 2019 marked five years of the JJS Law’s implementation. Bappenas conducted the present study, supported by PUSKAPA and UNICEF, to examine the JJS Law’s implementation and existing juvenile justice practices in Indonesia.
In particular, this study examined:
1) the practices and lessons learned around the JJS Law’s implementation
2) the challenges in implementing the JJS Law
3) policy recommendations to strengthen the juvenile justice system in Indonesia.
(We publish the research report in Indonesian, but key findings are available in English)
