Tindak Pidana Penyertaan dalam Eksploitasi Anak secara Berlanjut di Kota Medan (Studi pada Putusan Pengadilan Negeri Medan)

Abstract

This study discusses participation in the continuing criminal act of child exploitation in Medan City. Child exploitation is categorized as a special crime regulated under Law Number 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection because it relates to the protection of children's rights from all forms of economic and sexual exploitation. This research employs a normative legal method with a juridical-normative approach utilizing primary, secondary, and tertiary legal materials analyzed descriptively and qualitatively. The results show that participation in child exploitation crimes may involve several parties, including the main perpetrator, co-perpetrators, accomplices, or those who order the crime. Criminal liability is based on the element of fault and the involvement of each perpetrator in the continuing criminal act of child exploitation. Law enforcement still faces obstacles such as difficulties in proving the crime, limited evidence, psychological trauma experienced by child victims, and low public awareness regarding child protection. Therefore, cooperation among law enforcement officers, government, families, and society is necessary to provide protection for children as victims of exploitation.