This case is very sad, especially since her (one student's) uncle himself was so willing to take the high school student to unscrupulous officials to ruin the child's futurePekanbaru (ANTARA) - Mothers must increase their awareness on sexual violence against girls, an expert on women and children from Riau province, Hj Septina Primawati Rusli, has said in response to a recent rape case involving four Papua students.
"This case is very sad, especially since her (one student's) uncle himself was so willing to take the high school student to unscrupulous officials to ruin the child's future," Rusli said in Pekanbaru on Thursday.
She made the statement in reference to local media reports on the alleged rape of four 16-year-old students from Jayapura district, Papua province. Their alleged perpetrators have been identified by their initials asas GOY (head of the Papua PUPR Service), PM (a politician), MI (aide to the head of the PUPR Service), VY (head of the Papua PUPR Office's unit), and JSA
(uncle of one of the victims).
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The modus operandi used by the perpetrators was highly unusual, Rusli said. The uncle of one of the victims allegedly invited her to Jakarta without the knowledge of her family, then took her to a bar, and forced her to drink alcohol, she elaborated, adding that his actions were condemnable.
If she was his niece, the uncle should have sought permission from her parents as is the tradition among the Riau Malays, she said.
"Indeed, because they are teenagers, at first of course they are happy and have no negative thoughts about their uncle, let alone being taken for a walk, but the uncle's treatment of his niece is clearly very bad and very immoral," she remarked.
She also slammed the officials named in the case for cruelty toward victims, saying they were "low in faith" to have treated children in this manner.
"They probably brushed off the fact that it was a huge sin," she remarked. She said she was sure that they would not want a similar crime to befall their children, brothers, or sisters.
"For people who have no morals, it is possible to do evil like that," she remarked.
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She urged law enforcement officers to immediately resolve cases of sexual crimes against minors.
"This case must be resolved by the police. Please help the victims, and the Child Protection Commission should immediately step down to provide assistance to the victims," she demanded.
She also said she expected the latest case to be resolved so that the victims would get the justice they deserve, since their future has been cast under a shadow.
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Translator: Frislidia, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
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