"According to the research of the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Children Protection year 2011, we found that 97 percent of the family life and household guidance books, which were distributed throughout society, show gender bias," Gumelar said at a General Lecture organized at Postgraduate School of Indonesia Muslim University in Makassar, on Monday.
She said that one of the challenges faced by her ministry for empowering women were religious interpretations that develop in society due to the publication of the gender bias family life guidance books.
Regarding the case of the gender bias family life guidance book, her ministry is coordinating with the Religion Ministry to recall the distributed books, which are suspected of giving rise to wrong interpretations in the society.
Meanwhile, regarding criminal cases involving children, Gumelar said the Ministry of Women Empowerment and Children Protection will facilitate the legal proceedings in the case, hence the punishment that would be given is
not seen as penalty or revenge, but coaching or rehabilitation.
"We are pushing for restorative justice through rehabilitation to facilitate the children involved in legal cases," she said.
Gumelar further said that to protect children who have broken laws, the Ministry of Women empowerment and Children Protection created Work Group 2009, which involved seven ministries along with the Supreme Court, to sign the Joint Decree Letter (JDL).
The JDL would provide the guidance to find the solution for children legal problems. But, Gumelar also admitted that the JDL has not been strong enough to create a valid legal process.
"Therefore, we keep enforcing the legalization of the bill about Children Criminal Justice that is still being considered at the law making level," she said.
In the bill, there are rules to handle children who face legal charges through reversion and restorative justice, except for serious criminal cases such as murder, drugs and sexual harassment. (*)
Editor: Aditia Maruli Radja
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