LEGAL PROTECTION FOR CHILDREN VICTIMS OF FINANCIAL NEGLECT BY THEIR FATHERS: A RECONCEPTUALIZATION OF ECONOMIC NEGLECT FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF LEGAL CERTAINTY AND THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD

Abstract

A father’s failure to provide child support for a child who is not yet economically independent remains a legal issue that highlights the gap between normative regulations and the effectiveness of child rights protection in Indonesia. This study aims to analyze the legal certainty regarding the protection of children who are victims of child support neglect by fathers of children who are not yet economically independent, as well as to reconceptualize child support neglect as a form of economic neglect from the perspective of the best interests of the child. This study is a normative legal study employing legislative, conceptual, and case-based approaches. The analysis was conducted using a prescriptive-qualitative method through an examination of legislation, international legal instruments, court decisions, legal doctrine, and developmental psychology literature regarding the impacts of economic neglect. The results of the study indicate that the Indonesian legal system has provided a normative basis regarding a father’s obligation to provide child support, but has not yet provided optimal legal certainty due to weak law enforcement mechanisms and the lack of effective instruments to ensure the fulfillment of this obligation. The novelty of this study lies in the reconceptualization of child support neglect as a form of economic neglect, understood as a multidimensional violation of children’s rights; thus, legal protection must be directed toward strengthening effective law enforcement mechanisms to ensure the fulfillment of the best interests of the child.