Visiting Jakarta Children Prison, an “Unusual” Empowerment Experience to Students

SOSIO FISIP UNS (10/1)-What do you think when you hear the word “prison”?

Is it dark? Terrible? Crime? Or other bad ideas?

To many people, prison is a place replete with negative image. Such stigma is formed instinctively because the inmate of a cell is the one considered deviating from value and norm, either fully or temporarily. In addition, so many media reporting the condition of prison (with less good frame) increase the dark image of a prison, at both adult and child levels.

However, it is different to a sociologist, Edgar Bayu Refansyah, S.Sos, constituting a 2016-generation alumnus of Sociology Department of FISIP UNS.  Edgar, who is attending advanced study in Sociology Postgraduate Department of University of Indonesia with Social Development Policy being main concentration (the 2021 generation), said that research can be done anywhere, even in the prison. Child prison has a distinctive appeal. In addition to because of limited age of prisoners, the empowerment program held has more programs and devotees. Edgar wrote a thesis for his graduate study entitled Pendidikan Karakter dan Perubahan Perilaku pada Anak yang Berhadapan Dengan Hukum (Studi Kasus pada Anak di Lembaga Pembinaan Khusus Anak (LPKA) Klas I Kutoarjo) [Character Education and the change of Behavior in Children faced with the Law (A Case Study on Children in the First Class Child-Specific Penitentiary of Kutoarjo] under guidance of Drs. Sudarsana, PGD in PopDev. Edgar graduated in 2020 with cum laude predicate. .

During his graduate study, Edgar got academic guidance of Drs. Bambang Santosa, M.Si and participated actively in some organizations in both faculty and university environments, including Student Executive Board (Badan Eksekutif Mahasiswa or BEM) of UNS, Student Council (Dewan Mahasiswa or DEMA) of FISIP UNS, Sociology Student Association (Himpunan Mahasiswa Sosiologi  or HIMASOS) of FISIP UNS and Fiesta Radio of FISIP UNS. He has ever attended internship program in one of Non-Government Organizations (Lembaga Swadaya Masyarakat or LSM) in Jakarta, Indonesian Family Planning Association (Perkumpulan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia or PKBI) of DKI Jakarta

Ife (1995) states that “empowerment is a process of helping disadvantaged groups and individual to compete more effectively with other interests, by helping them to learn and use in lobbying, using the media, engaging in political action, understanding how to ‘work the system,’ and so on”. This means that empowerment is a means of building individuals or a group of individuals with limitation to be competitive with their fellows.

One of institutions operating in child empowerment in the prison is Indonesian Family Planning Association (Perkumpulan Keluarga Berencana Indonesia or PKBI) of DKI Jakarta established since 1957, focusing on reproductive health and adolescence. This institution has a good track record in child empowerment in the prison. One of prisons having ever been the target of empowerment for PKBI volunteers is the First Class Child-Specific Penitentiary of Jakarta (LPKA Klas I Jakarta).

The empowerment program held by PKBI DKI Jakarta in LPKA Klas I Jakarta consists of, among others: counseling program to hear grievance and problem of children faced with Law, reading and writing and cognitive thinking skills, and home visit to the houses of parents or guardian of child faced with law. The objective of home visit is to find out the condition of child’s family directly and to understand the problems encountered by the child, viewed from their parents’ perspective.

In addition to the Empowerment of Child Faced with Law, PKBI also has socialized reproductive health to people and school children. This program is held to give the people an understanding on limitation and prohibition in both same- and opposite-sex intercourses. This program has been held in all branches of PKBI, particularly in Jakarta.

Edgar stated that referring to a sociological review, doing internship in PKBI gives us much understanding on phenomenon and reality within society. Thus, students can get something news related to society and can find out the strategy to deal with phenomenon and reality that has been a culture within society, particularly in some sensitive fields to some people, reproductive health.

Informant

Edgar Bayu Refansyah

Author

Novel Adryan Purnomo