Customary Law Enforcement Against Immoral Offenders under Law No. 5 of 2014 on Child and Women Protection

Abstract

Customary law and customary justice arise from community awareness and function to maintain balance, order, and harmony. In resolving immoral offences, customary mechanisms are relevant because they are accessible, expeditious, and consistent with communal values. Their application must protect children and women and must not obstruct positive law. This study analyses obstacles to enforcing customary law against perpetrators of immoral harassment from the perspective of Law Number 5 of 2014 concerning the Protection of Children and Women. It employs a juridical method with a descriptive-analytical design, using statutory and qualitative approaches. Data were obtained through a literature review of regulations, books, reports, archives, and materials relating to customary law, mediation, and restorative justice. The findings show that customary settlements are conducted through deliberation, reconciliation, apologies, customary fines, and restoration of social relations. Formal law enforcement is constrained by bureaucracy, limited access and high costs, inadequate legal understanding, distrust of law-enforcement officers, and tensions with family-oriented values. Customary mechanisms face limited jurisdiction, the absence of binding written standards, unfairness, intergenerational differences, and insufficient coordination with state law. Customary law may therefore serve as a restorative mechanism that complements, rather than replaces, formal proceedings, particularly in serious cases involving children and women.