The qualitative socio‐legal case study using a restorative justice framework to explore child sexual abuse case settlements in Aceh, Indonesia

Abstract

Sexual violence against children is a serious socio‐legal problem in Aceh, Indonesia, a plural legal system comprising national law, Islamic criminal law, and customary institutions. The research examined the effectiveness of existing legal and institutional responses to child sexual violence and designed a culturally sensitive model of restorative justice for the Acehnese socio‐legal context. The study used a qualitative socio‐legal case study approach and involved 19 informants, including judges, prosecutors, police investigators, community leaders, NGO workers, child protection activists, and victims' parents. Data were collected through semi‐structured interviews, analysis of five anonymized case files, and field observations. Thematic analysis was performed using the framework of Braun and Clarke, and manual coding was assisted by an Excel‐based matrix. The results showed that the overlapping jurisdictions of the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, Child Protection Law, Qanun Jinayat, and Mahkamah Syar'iyah resulted in legal uncertainty, delays in the court process, fragmented victim protection, and the possibility of secondary victimization. Existing punitive approaches were inadequate for psychosocial recovery and long‐term child protection. Restorative justice was conditionally backed when delivered through trauma‐informed mediation, voluntary participation, psychosocial assistance, institutional coordination, and ethical safeguards. This paper proposes a child‐centered restorative justice framework including legal accountability, psychosocial recovery, community participation, and socioreligious legitimacy in Aceh's plural legal system.