Resolving Criminal Cases for Children Using Indramayu Traditional Wisdom
Author: H. Dudung Badrun, S.H., M.H.
(Advocate)
Just now, a child born in Segeran Kidul spent the day breathing fresh air in a mango orchard.
While praying Maghrib at the Alfataa Mosque in Segeran Kidul, I met a congregant named A. She complained that she hadn’t found a massage job yet. I asked her why she was so sad.
It turned out that her daughter, a 17-year-old eleventh-grade student, was seven months pregnant, while her daughter-in-law was also poor.
However, she was somewhat comforted by the fact that her daughter, named F, was in the same year from Segeran Lor village, attending the same school and the same age, attending a private high school in Segeran Kidul, and was also pregnant.
Are teenagers in Indramayu so eager to get pregnant?
This reality seems commonplace. Fortunately, the village and regional governments didn’t care, so it didn’t become a legal case under Law Number 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection in conjunction with Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Justice System.
This reality makes it difficult for Indramayu to catch up with other regions.
Fortunately, the issue was resolved through customary law by the community, with an Islamic marriage conducted by a religious teacher.
Perhaps Law Number 23 of 2002 concerning Child Protection, in Article 1, Number 1, states that a child is a person under 18 years of age. In conjunction with Law Number 11 of 2012 concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, Article 1, Number 4, which defines a child as a child aged 12 but under 18, in its application in Indramayu, this could be considered a “roll” and not be treated as such because the community can resolve the matter through customary law, namely by marrying the man who impregnated her according to Islamic law.**
Indramayu, October 26, 2025
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