The penalty of castration for perpetrators of child sexual abuse is not a new discourse in Indonesia; that issue started in 2016. Following the background of the problem, the latest development of castration penalty has reached the stage of submitting the Draft Government Regulation (RPP) on castration to the State Secretariat (Setneg) to obtain the determination number (Kompas, 22 September 2020). The problem is in the sociological law, not just whether the penalty of castration is sufficient to reduce the rate of sexual violence against children. More than that, it is necessary to analyze specifically whether the punishment of castration already contains the principle of justice.
Child sexual abuse is any form of action that can cause trauma to the victim, especially children, such as so requesting or pressuring a child to perform the sexual activity, displaying pornography to a child, having sex with a child, and using a child to produce child pornography (Martin et al, 1993). A child is a person who is not yet 18 years old, including a child who is still in the womb(Law No.23/2002 on Child Protection). The law of castration is one way of quelling sex drive by lowering testosterone levels but not causing permanent physical changes to the body, only as a controlling fantasy and temporary sexual act, not permanent forever(Ciminal.findlaw.com, 2019).
Castration issue has been passed since 2016, but have not affected on decreasing rates of child sexual abuse. The two cases of castration are currently chemical castration to Muhammad Aris, the perpetrator of sexual violence against nine children who are on average still minors. Later, chemical castration penalties against defendant Rahmat Slamet Santoso, the perpetrator of sexual violence against 15 of his protégés when he became a scoutmaster since 2015.
Although there have been two cases of castration, the direct practice of granting castration for perpetrators of child sexual abuse has not been carried out. All, it is only limited to the giving of a verdict, because the procedure of castration still does not have detailed rules. The latest legislation on castration is still in the process of determining. Based on data from the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), the trend of child sexual abuse rates increased from 2016 to 2019. Data from the Witness and Victim Protection Agency (LPSK), in 2019, found as many as 350 cases of child sexual abuse. The pattern always rises every year, as shown in the following chart.
Concerning the sociology of law that has a social perspective about regulation, we can see the penalty of castration that will be determined by the government based on the views of sociologists. According to sociologist, Durkheim (1964), the best way to study society is to check the law, which is an objective indicator of solidarity. It is then further explained that society is divided into mechanical and organic solidarity.
Mechanical solidarity depends on social conformism and obtains its assertions in the forbidding nature of the law and in the repressive nature that exists in legal sanctions. Organist solidarity is based on cooperation and accepts its most specific legal statements in contract law as a manifestation of the principles and regulations for the exchange of goods and services, and in legal sanctions aimed not at suppressing, but rather to restore and facilitate further interaction (A.A.G. Peters and Siswosoebroto (Ed.), 1988, p. 33, 34).
If you look at the kind of solidarity that exists, the author assesses that the punishment of castration perpetrators of sexual violence are included in organized solidarity. Castration is intended to restore and facilitate further interaction. Since cases of child sexual abuse can vary from place to place in Indonesia, social solidarity can be one of the sources of influence on people's lives, including types of punishment. "Wherever social solidarity exists, it is not in a state of pure potency, but manifests its presence with a reasonable index." (Durkheim, 1964b, p. 1964. 1964 64).
The criminal policy set by the government regarding the punishment of castration is undoubtedly made as a form of controlling crimes of sexual violence against children, regardless of whether the output or the results are as expected or not. Although cultural bias and belief can trigger different reactions, bureaucratic institutions still have the authority to regulate matters related to the control of crimes of sexual violence against children in various forms, including castration. Because, they are the primary regulation that produces criminal policy as conveyed by the Indonesian criminologist, Muhammad Mustofa (2007).
The prominent institutions that produce criminal policy include legislative institutions, the criminal justice system, and policy-making institutions that are various bureaucratic institutions that are authorized to regulate matters related to crime control in multiple forms (Mustofa, 2007,p. 2007). 44). So, although castration has not affected on decreasing the rate of sexual violence against children in communities of diverse cultures and beliefs, the presence of this law needs to be adhered to in the context of organic solidarity and one form of crime control.
In all that, the effectiveness of castration in the reduction of cases of sexual violence against children has not been tested, because until now, it is only limited to verdicts. At the same time, the data on sexual violence against children also continues to increase from year to year. In the context of Indonesian society's diverse culture and beliefs, the punishment of castration if it has become a judge's decision still needs to be obeyed given the mechanical solidarity to restore relations or condition of society for the better. We are no longer in mechanical solidarity in its relationship with the punishment of castration and society today, except remote areas in various parts of the archipelago that have not been touched.
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