Enforcement Gaps in Child Protection Law: Managing Strategy of Violence on Students in Islamic Boarding Schools and the Limits of Legal Compliance in Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15575/kh.v7i3.43929Keywords:
Child protection law, enforcement gaps, legal culture, managing strategy, pesantrenAbstract
This study investigates enforcement gaps in Indonesia’s child protection law by focusing on violence in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren) in Kudus. The research aims to examine why violence against children persists despite the existence of comprehensive statutes such as Law No. 35 of 2014 on Child Protection, Law No. 20 of 2003 on the National Education System, Law No. 18 of 2019 on Pesantren, and Law No. 12 of 2022 on Sexual Violence Crimes. Using a qualitative socio-legal method, the study combines normative legal analysis with empirical case studies drawn from media reports, NGO documentation, and secondary academic sources. The findings reveal four major enforcement gaps: limited accessibility of reporting mechanisms due to fear and hierarchical power relations; cultural normalization of violence through ta’zir as disciplinary education; fragmented institutional coordination without intersectoral SOPs; and the frequent use of restorative justice settlements that disadvantage victims. These results underscore that legal reforms alone are insufficient without accompanying cultural transformation, integrated institutional mechanisms, and community-based engagement. The study contributes to child protection discourse by proposing an integrative approach that harmonizes statutory law with religious moderation and communal values, while aligning with international standards such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The originality of this research lies in its contextual focus on pesantren, a relatively underexplored site in child protection scholarship, thereby enriching international debates on law, culture, and the protection of children in religious education settings.
References
Abdulhamid, R. (2017). The Responsibilities of Muslim Women in Dealing with Security Challenges in Nigeria. Wawasan: Jurnal Ilmiah Agama Dan Sosial Budaya, 2(2), 156–165. https://doi.org/10.15575/jw.v2i2.1567
Abdullah, A., Bentum, H., Frederico, M., Mensah, F., Jordan, L. P., & Emery, C. R. (2023). Protective indigenous collective value of Ubuntu and child neglect: Implications for rural child protection practice. Child and Family Social Work, 28(4), 1035–1045. https://doi.org/10.1111/cfs.13023
Adams-Clark, A. A., Harsey, S., & Freyd, J. J. (2024). Factors of Institutional Betrayal Associated with PTSD Symptoms and Barriers to Service Use Among Campus Sexual Assault Survivors. Psychological Injury and Law, 17(4), 383–397. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12207-024-09524-5
Adjorlolo, S., & Battanis, Y. Y. (2024). School violence and adolescent mental health in Africa: agenda for research, policy, and practice. In Handbook of School Violence, Bullying and Safety (pp. 167–180). https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035301362.00022
Afriani, A., & Denisa, D. (2021). Bullying Victimization Among Junior High School Students in Aceh, Indonesia: Prevalence and its Differences in Gender, Grade, and Friendship Quality. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 9(2), 251–274. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v9i2.518
Al-Badayneh, D. M., Al-Tarawneh, M. E., Lamchichi, A. A., & Ellamey, Y. M. (2024). Religious Observance and Youth Violent Extremism among Young Arab Students Implications for Youth Religious De-Radicalization. European Journal of Science and Theology, 20(1), 1–17.
Alabdulhadi, M. M. J. (2019). Religious tolerance in secondary Islamic Education textbooks in Kuwait. British Journal of Religious Education, 41(4), 422–434. https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2019.1585329
Allison, M. A., Beers, N., & Peterson, J. W. (2023). Corporal Punishment in Schools. Pediatrics, 153(3). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2023-063284
Antara. (2024). Tangan santri dicelup air panas, JPPA Kudus gandeng tiga perguruan tinggi dampingi korban. Antara. https://jateng.antaranews.com/berita/536124/tangan-santri-dicelup-air-panas-jppa-kudus-gandeng-tiga-perguruan-tinggi-dampingi-korban
Aprilianda, N., Maharani, F., Kadir, N. A., Ferdian, A., & Solehuddin, S. (2025). Re-conceptualizing Child Victim Rights: A Normative and Comparative Analysis of Victim Impact Statement in Indonesia’s Juvenile Justice System. Jambura Law Review, 7(2), 442–467. https://doi.org/10.33756/jlr.v7i2.30132
Arif, M., Aziz, M. K. N. A., & Abdurakhmonovich, Y. A. (2024). Trend Strategy to Prevent Bullying In Islamic Boarding Schools (Pesantren). Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 12(2), 639–670. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v12i2.1087
Ashraf, M. A. (2019). Exploring the potential of religious literacy in Pakistani education. Religions, 10(7). https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10070429
Astuti, P., & Awang, M. B. Bin. (2025). Comparative Legal Perspectives on Bullying in Educational Environments: Regulatory Gaps and Reform Imperatives in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Jambura Law Review, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.33756/jlr.v7i2.31232
Atiqul Haque, M., Janson, S., Moniruzzaman, S., Rahman, A. K. M. F., Mashreky, S. R., & Eriksson, U.-B. (2017). Bangladeshi school-age children’s experiences and perceptions on child maltreatment: A qualitative interview study. Child: Care, Health and Development, 43(6), 876–883. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.12508
Azizah, N., Diniarti, G., Umar, V., & Suharmini, T. (2024). The Role of Parents in Implementing the Post-School Transition. Jurnal Ilmiah Peuradeun, 12(1), 183–202. https://doi.org/10.26811/peuradeun.v12i1.961
Baker-Henningham, H., Scott, Y., Bowers, M., & Francis, T. (2019). Evaluation of a violence-prevention programme with jamaican primary school teachers: A cluster randomised trial. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(15). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16152797
Behrhorst, K. L., Sullivan, T. N., & Sutherland, K. S. (2020). The Impact of Classroom Climate on Aggression and Victimization in Early Adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 40(5), 689–711. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272431619870616
Boyadjiev, B., & Onchev, G. (2007). Legal and cultural aspects of involuntary psychiatric treatment regulation in post-totalitarian milieu: The Bulgarian perspective. European Journal of Psychiatry, 21(3), 179–188. https://doi.org/10.4321/S0213-61632007000300002
Brando, N. (2019). Universalism, embeddedness and domination: an analysis of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Journal of Global Ethics, 15(3), 270–286. https://doi.org/10.1080/17449626.2019.1695221
Brown, W. R. (2022). School violence: Causes, prevention and safety measures. In School Violence: Causes, Prevention and Safety Measures.
Brunborg, G. S., Bjørknes, R., & Bang, L. (2024). Personal Barriers to Reporting Child Maltreatment Among Early Childhood Education and Care Professionals. International Journal on Child Maltreatment: Research, Policy and Practice, 7(2), 221–240. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42448-023-00190-9
Cerezo, F. (2006). Violence and victimization among schoolchildren. bullying: Identification and intervention based on the bull-s test. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 4(9), 333–352.
Che Soh, R., Abdul Hak, N., & Ibrahim, N. (2012). Adequacy of legislation in protecting the rights of Muslim women against spousal violence in Malaysia. Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, 6(11), 319–325.
Choi, J. J., Bazemore, G., & Gilbert, M. J. (2012). Review of research on victims’ experiences in restorative justice: Implications for youth justice. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(1), 35–42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2011.08.011
Cruz, G. V, & Pereira, W. R. (2013). [Different configurations of violence in pedagogical relationships between teachers and students of higher education]. Revista Brasileira de Enfermagem, 66(2), 241–250. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0034-71672013000200014
Damopolii, M., Shabir, M. U., & Burga, M. A. (2023). The Phenomenon of Punishment at Pesantren in South Sulawesi: An Islamic Law and Islamic Education Approaches. Samarah, 7(3), 1643–1660. https://doi.org/10.22373/sjhk.v7i3.18207
Detik. (2022). Tok! Guru Ngaji yang Cabuli 8 Murid di Kudus Divonis 18 Tahun Bui. Detik. https://www.detik.com/jateng/hukum-dan-kriminal/d-6187105/tok-guru-ngaji-yang-cabuli-8-murid-di-kudus-divonis-18-tahun-bui
Di, X., & Wu, Y. (2009). The developing trend of the people’s mediation in china. Sociological Focus, 42(3), 228–245. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.2009.10571354
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Kisbiyanto
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under  Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).