Indonesian Catholic schools move to tackle sexual abuse
High-profile cases prompt educators, govt to team up to provide better protection for children from predators
Andy Yentriyani, chairwoman of the National Commission on Violence Against Women, and Franciscan Father Vinsensius Darmin Mbula sign an MoU on April 8 to tackle sexual abuse in schools. (Photo supplied)
A high-profile sexual abuse case in which altar boys in Depok on the outskirts of Jakarta were assaulted by a church worker was a wake-up call for Indonesia’s Catholic schools to look at ways to better protect students from such predators, according to educators.
The case the first involving sexual abuse within the Indonesian Catholic Church brought to a civil court saw the perpetrator, Syahril Marbun, jailed for 15 years for raping two altar boys.
Amid sex abuse trial of ex-priest, Timor-Leste confronts its demons
New campaign aims to break the taboo about talking about sexual abuse in the Catholic-majority country
A woman shows her support for efforts to fight sexual abuse in Timor-Leste. (Photo supplied)
Images and short videos of people holding posters containing statements against sexual abuse adorn the timeline of a new Facebook campaign page.
The campaign is called “Hapára Abuzu Seksuál hasoru Labarik,” which means “Stop sexual abuse against children” in Timor-Leste’s Tetun language.
Created on March 3, it aims to strengthen public awareness of sexual abuse amid the trial of ex-priest Richard Daschbach, according to Ariel Mota Alves, one of its administrators.
The long road to justice for Timor-Leste s sex abuse victims
The case of Richard Daschbach must make the tiny Catholic-majority nation confront its dark past
Richard Daschbach waves from a police van before starting his trial on Feb. 22. (Photo: YouTube)
Finally, the wheels of justice for scores of Timorese sex abuse victims of self-confessed pedophile former priest Richard Daschbach have started to move, albeit slowly.
A court in Timor-Leste started the trial of Daschbach, 84, on Feb. 22 before it was adjourned the next day until March 22 when both sides will testify before the judges.
Daschbach, a US citizen and former priest and missionary from the Society of the Divine Word, is the first clergyman in the tiny Catholic-majority Southeast Asian nation to face a sex abuse trial. He faces 14 counts of child abuse including sex crimes, child pornography and domestic violence. If convicted, he faces 20 years in jail.
Indonesian police arrest Muslim teacher over rape claims
The 50-year-old cleric is accused of sexually abusing 15 female students aged 16-17
Protesters rally outside the presidential palace in Jakarta to demand parliament pass an anti-sexual violence law in March 2018. (Photo: Konradus Epa/UCA News)
Police in Indonesia s East Java province have arrested and detained the head of an Islamic boarding school for allegedly abusing and raping underage girls at the school.
The 50-year-old cleric, who was identified as Subechan B, allegedly had sex with 15 students aged 16-17 at the school in Kauman village of Jombang district.
Jombang district police chief Agung Setyo Nugroho said he was arrested on Feb. 15 after being reported by parents on Feb. 8-9.
Pedophile former priest evades justice in Timor-Leste
Despite his crimes, American Richard Daschbach enjoys celebrity status in the tiny Catholic-majority nation
Former Timor-Leste president Xanana Gusmao (right) with Richard Daschbach, a former priest defrocked by the Vatican for child sexual abuse. (Photo: Twitter)
Richard Daschbach might be 84, defrocked from the priesthood and under house arrest in Timor-Leste capital Dili, but he continues to make a buzz in the tiny Catholic-majority Southeast Asian nation.
The self-proclaimed pedophile and former priest from the Society of the Divine Word congregation has hit the headlines again in Timor-Leste and beyond.
On Jan. 26, former president Xanana Gusmao visited the American to greet him on his birthday and pose for photos in what some believe was a political stunt by the former guerrilla leader turned politician.