“Why are the perpetrators of sexual harassment (the AN Pesantren case) ensnared by Qanun Jinayat? Why not be ensnared by a more specific Child Protection Act?”

That was the question that was asked by one of the discussion participants on Saturday, last week (18/1/2020). This response was then described at length in the title 'Children in the Protection of God and the State' delivered by the Director of the Advocacy and Child Rights Monitoring Coalition (KAPHA) Taufik Riswan.

Taufik on that occasion reviewed the relationship between the legal system and religious teachings in terms of protecting children's rights. The participants were invited to see the harmony between the Indonesian legal system and the Islamic religion that is currently being implemented in Aceh.

Starting the discussion, Taufik revealed the arguments for the protection of children in Islam, as contained in the Qur'an, Surah An-Nisa Verse 9.

"Where not only parents, but also state institutions are reminded by God to give birth to a strong generation," he added. In his view, the warning has become a strong foundation of the religious system for child protection.

While in the context of the state, Taufik continued, that the basis for the formation of state law is inspired by positivistic values that exist in religious, social and cultural strengths that are integrated in the legal system. In fact, he explained, in the preparation of legal products, academic manuscripts require formal philosophical, sociological and theoretical reviews.

"And the philosophical review itself often comes from the value of goodness that comes from religion," he said. This also confirms Taufik's assumption that "if someone says the legal system is against religion, it means that there is an unfinished discussion, because the positivistic energy of law actually comes from religion."

Measuring Qanun Jinayat

In the context of Aceh which applies Islamic Sharia, the expectation of the Qanun Jinayat as a legal product other than the Law (UU) is the strengthening of the legal system for the protection of children.

Meanwhile, child protection itself is regulated in Law (UU) number 23 of 2002 concerning child protection and Law 35 of 2014 concerning amendments to Law 23 of 2002.

"With the qanun, it should strengthen the legal system to protect children," said Taufik.

However, in the implementation process so far, the opposite has happened. Important points in child protection regulations in laws at the national level are often overlooked when referring to qanuns.

So, just like the rebuttal of one of the discussion participants at the beginning, there are obvious injustices and inconsistencies in the handling of child protection cases in Aceh. The implementation of the Jinayat Qanun in Aceh, which is regulated under Law 11 of 2006 concerning the Government of Aceh, seems lame. According to Taufik, the sexual harassment case (Jarimah) regulated in Article 72 (and the definition of Jarimah in Article 3) overrides other legal books, in this case the Criminal Code.

“Inconsistency can be seen from the implementation of different legal products in Aceh. However, we appreciate some areas, such as cases of violence against children that occurred in Bener Meriah and Central Aceh, where law enforcers are still using the Child Protection Act," said Taufik.

There are a number of problems from the Qanun Jinayat related to child protection, among them, the qanun is not comprehensive to crack down on violence against children as a whole.

"It does not touch the aspect of recovery for children who are victims of violence, and there is also no restitution which is actually the victim's right," he added.

On the sidelines of the discussion, Taufik also reminded the state's responsibility towards children. Indonesia as a country that has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child, is obliged to carry out three obligations, namely to fulfill (to fulfill), protect (to protect) and to respect (to respect) children's rights.

“This world belongs to children, various government institutions are established because there is a mandate to fulfill children's rights in them. If we don't pay attention to the children, it's outrageous," he said.