URGENSI PENDEKATAN RESTORATIF DALAM PENANGANAN KASUS KEKERASAN TERHADAP ANAK: ANALISIS YURIDIS TERHADAP KESENJANGAN ANTARA HUKUM FORMIL DAN PERLINDUNGAN HAK ANAK

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the implementation of diversion and restorative justice in the juvenile justice system and assess their contribution to the restoration of child victims' rights. This study is motivated by the gap between the progressive normative framework and implementation practices that do not focus on victim recovery. The method used is a normative juridical approach with a regulatory and conceptualization approach, supported by an analysis of diversion implementation practices at the judicial level. The results of the study indicate that although normatively, diversion and restorative justice have a strong legal basis, their implementation tends to be formalistic and ineffective in guaranteeing the restoration of child victims' rights. Diversion in practice focuses more on case resolution than on comprehensive victim recovery, including psychological, social, and resolution aspects. This study also found that the main obstacles lie in normative and practical aspects. Normatively, including the scope of diversion, the administrative nature of victim protection mechanisms, and the lack of integration of the victim protection system with the diversion process hinder the effectiveness of restorative justice. Practically, limitations in institutional capacity, human resources, and access to protection services also exacerbate these weaknesses. The novelty of this research lies in its assertion that the failure of restorative justice in practice is not solely due to implementation factors, but also to the design of formal criminal law, which has not yet integrated victim recovery as its primary focus. Therefore, policy reformulation is needed that places victims at the center of every diversion process to achieve substantive justice.

Keywords: diversion, restorative justice, child protection, victims, juvenile criminal justice system