Ninety-five percent of divorces in Indonesia involve children under the age of 18, as per research by the Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Justice in 2018, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (MA) has said.
“(This is) Using the assumption that in Indonesia, every family has two children on average,” Muhammad Syarifuddin said at a webinar on “Protection of Women and Children’s Rights in Divorce Cases,” accessed from here on Wednesday.
Based on that figure, it has been estimated that more than 900 thousand to one million children are affected by petitions for divorce filed in court annually, he said.
There is a long-term impact experienced by Indonesian children that will have an effect later on the social structure of the society, he added.
Therefore, to reduce the negative impact of parental divorce on children, it is important to ensure that all children are able to access their rights, Syarifuddin emphasized.
He then listed some children’s rights, such as guarantee of health insurance, education, and proper care, and many others, which are contained in court rulings related to the payment of alimony for children and ex-wives.
According to him, although the number of children affected by parental divorce each year is relatively large, court rulings on the payment of alimony have not been effective.
“A divorce ruling does not necessarily make it easier to cut (or share) the ex-husband’s share of income for the ex-wife’s alimony and child support,” he said.
As a result, the child and ex-wife are vulnerable to becoming trapped or falling into poverty, or even becoming victims of crime, he added.
Therefore, court rulings on divorces are one of the Supreme Court’s priorities, whose implementation requires government support, he said.
Source: Antara News