TY - JOUR
T1 - The Relevance of Certain Case Characteristics in the Successful Prosecution of Child Sexual Abuse Cases in Indonesia
AU - Sumampouw, Nathanael
AU - Otgaar, Henry
AU - de Ruiter, Corine
N1 - Funding Information:
This study is a part of Nathanael Sumampouw’s Ph.D project funded by the Indonesian Endowment Fund (Lembaga Pengelola Dana Pendidikan - LPDP), grant number 20160122105243. We also would like to thank our research assistants: Devario Delano, Sandi Mahendra, and Cania Mutia.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
PY - 2020
Y1 - 2020
N2 - Successful prosecution in child sexual abuse (CSA) cases is an essential purpose of law enforcement agencies to ensure accountability of perpetrators and children’s safety. However, research has shown that legal prosecution of CSA cases is a highly complex endeavor resulting in only a limited percentage of cases being prosecuted and ultimately proven in court. Most attrition occurs at the stage of the police investigation. The current study is the first study of CSA prosecution in an Asian country. We aimed to identify factors, which contribute to Indonesian CSA cases prosecution. We examined police files of CSA cases (N = 179) from three police units in greater Jakarta. We found that only 32% (n = 58) of cases were prosecuted. The following factors increased the odds of prosecution: victim being threatened, the suspect confessed, medical examination report being present, duration of investigations between one to 2 months, and the case being charged under the Child Protection Law. These findings (threat, suspect confession, and the presence of a medical examination report) correspond to previous studies in other jurisdictions.
AB - Successful prosecution in child sexual abuse (CSA) cases is an essential purpose of law enforcement agencies to ensure accountability of perpetrators and children’s safety. However, research has shown that legal prosecution of CSA cases is a highly complex endeavor resulting in only a limited percentage of cases being prosecuted and ultimately proven in court. Most attrition occurs at the stage of the police investigation. The current study is the first study of CSA prosecution in an Asian country. We aimed to identify factors, which contribute to Indonesian CSA cases prosecution. We examined police files of CSA cases (N = 179) from three police units in greater Jakarta. We found that only 32% (n = 58) of cases were prosecuted. The following factors increased the odds of prosecution: victim being threatened, the suspect confessed, medical examination report being present, duration of investigations between one to 2 months, and the case being charged under the Child Protection Law. These findings (threat, suspect confession, and the presence of a medical examination report) correspond to previous studies in other jurisdictions.
KW - case prosecution
KW - Child sexual abuse
KW - Indonesia
KW - police investigation
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85092194861&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10538712.2020.1801930
DO - 10.1080/10538712.2020.1801930
M3 - Article
C2 - 33006505
AN - SCOPUS:85092194861
SN - 1053-8712
VL - 29
SP - 984
EP - 1003
JO - Journal of Child Sexual Abuse
JF - Journal of Child Sexual Abuse
IS - 8
ER -
