A 15-Year-Old Girl, Whose Own Brother Raped Her, Has Been Jailed For Having An Abortion
The girl's mother, too, faces separate charges for helping her.
By Sadho Ram — 22 Jul 2018, 05:03 PM
In a closed hearing at Muara Bulian District Court on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, a 15-year-old girl, who was repeatedly raped by her elder brother, has been sentenced to six months behind bars
On Saturday, 21 July, Muara Bulian District Court spokesman Listyo Arif Budiman said that both the girl along with her brother was sentenced on Thursday, 19 July.
While the girl was sentenced to six months' jail, the brother was jailed for two years for sexually assaulting a minor, according to a report in the Straits Times.
During the trial, he had admitted to raping his younger sister "at least" eight times and threatening to inflict physical violence if she turned down his sexual advances.
The victim was jailed for abortion while she was six months into her pregnancy. She was charged under the child protection law.
According to Indonesia's child protection law, abortion is forbidden unless a woman's life is at risk or under certain circumstances if she is raped.
Additionally, only a registered professional can perform a sanctioned abortion in Indonesia and it has to be done within six weeks into a pregnancy.
The girl's ordeal started when her 18-year-old brother started raping her in September last year. Following which, she became pregnant.
In June this year, police arrested the siblings after a male foetus was discovered at a palm oil plantation near Pulau village in Jambi province, reported The Guardian.
The girl had aborted the child about six months after becoming pregnant. The girl's mother, who helped her in abortion, is also facing separate charges.
According to reports, the prosecutors had originally asked for the girl to be jailed for one year and her brother for seven years
They are considering an appeal against the sentence to increase it.