A Criminological Analysis of the Factors Contributing to Sexual Violence Offenses Committed by Children: A Case Study at the Central Java Regional Police

Abstract

Sexual violence offenses committed by children represent an increasingly prevalent criminological phenomenon that poses significant challenges in their handling, particularly because children, on the one hand, are individuals entitled to protection but, on the other hand, may also become perpetrators of criminal offenses. This study aims to analyze the factors contributing to sexual violence offenses committed by children and examine these factors from the perspective of Social Learning Theory. This study employs an empirical juridical approach with a descriptive-analytical research design, utilizing primary data obtained through interviews with law enforcement officials at the Central Java Regional Police and secondary data collected through a literature review. The findings indicate that the causes of these offenses cannot be attributed to a single factor but rather arise from the cumulative influence of multiple factors, including early exposure to pornography, inadequate parental supervision and family dysfunction, peer influences, and traumatic experiences of sexual victimization. The most dominant factor is the combination of exposure to pornography and insufficient parental supervision, which contributes to the formation of criminal intent while creating opportunities for such offenses to occur. From the perspective of Social Learning Theory, these behaviors result from learning processes involving observation, imitation, and reinforcement within children’s social environments, leading them to perceive deviant behavior as normal and socially acceptable. This study concludes that children are not born as offenders but become involved in criminal behavior through complex and multilayered social learning processes. Therefore, addressing sexual violence offenses committed by children requires more than a repressive approach; it must also incorporate preventive and rehabilitative measures through strengthening family involvement, providing appropriate sexuality education, and enhancing supervision of children’s social environments and digital media exposure.