Protecting Minors from Online Radicalization in Indonesia

Synopsis

The rise of JAD Nusantara, an ISIS-linked online network attracting large numbers of minors, reveals serious gaps in Indonesia’s child protection systems. Vulnerable adolescents, often dealing with bullying, isolation, or absent parents, are being recruited without showing obvious outward signs of radicalization. In line with UN child rights standards, Indonesia must adopt an approach that prioritizes rehabilitative, child-centered responses, safeguarding children’s rights while addressing the vulnerabilities and special needs that extremists exploit.

Commentary

The case of a 12-year-old boy in Pemalang, Central Java, who joined the terrorist group JAD Nusantara highlights a troubling trend: radicalization is increasingly happening entirely online, without parental or authority awareness.

Social media platforms and messaging apps act as channels, allowing extremist content to reach vulnerable youth undetected. Research analyses show that extremism thrives on platforms offering anonymity, rapid dissemination, and emotional appeal, qualities that make virtual spaces ideal for radical recruitment. Detecting online-driven radicalization through traditional community surveillance is extremely difficult. Therefore, child protection systems need to adopt digital literacy and monitoring capabilities so educators and social workers, not just security personnel, can recognize warning signs and intervene early. A comprehensive society-wide strategy is needed — one that identifies young people at risk and engages them through supportive, not punitive, channels.

Risk Factors for Radicalization Among the Young

International research links bullying with an increased risk of psychological problems ranging from anxiety and depression to internet addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A study involving over 95,000 students in China found that those who experienced severe bullying were significantly more likely to suffer emotional and behavioral problems — up to 11 times higher, depending on severity. Findings about JAD Nusantara showed that many of its members had been bullied at school, felt socially excluded, and came from households where fathers were frequently absent due to maritime work. Such emotional voids make them vulnerable to online extremist circles. However, blaming family instability alone for childhood adversity would unfairly pressure parents who already face limited resources, especially those from poor and marginalized communities. Meanwhile, the role of the government and its service providers remains underexplored. Understanding these risk factors is critical for designing child protection interventions that address root vulnerabilities rather than criminal behavior alone. Protecting children requires a multi-dimensional perspective that intersects with other aspects of their lives, such as health, education, social welfare, and access to justice. It will also involve stakeholders at various levels: children at the center, followed by families and caregivers, communities and societies, and then child protection systems. Underlying this is the need to address childhood adversity within humanitarian and development efforts, including poverty, global politics, and migration.

The Imperative for a Legal Protection Framework

International law strongly affirms the right of children to be treated with dignity and that their welfare takes priority even in counterterrorism efforts. Article 37 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child stipulates that children deprived of liberty must be separated from adults, have prompt access to legal assistance, and maintain family contact to the fullest extent possible. UN entities offer structured guidance on protecting children in terrorism-related contexts. These frameworks urge authorities to resist securitizing children as perpetrators and instead recognize them as children first, deserving empathy, care, and pathways back to normalcy. Many studies have shown children respond better to rehabilitative programs than adults, reducing recidivism and fostering positive behavior changes. Indonesia’s current non-arrest approach in Pemalang aligns commendably with this spirit, but it must be operationalized further through formal child protection mechanisms and treated as an integral part of Indonesia’s child protection system.

From Justice to Protection: Operationalizing Child-Focused Response

In the Pemalang case, Indonesia’s counterterrorism squad, Detachment 88, adopted a non-repressive approach towards the youth, working with the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (KPPA) rather than pursuing prosecution. This reflects a commendable shift in recognizing children’s vulnerability and special needs. At the same time, it highlights the need to strengthen Detachment 88’s perspective and training, especially in identifying children’s vulnerabilities and connecting them with support services like those provided by KPPA. However, KPPA personnel often lack specialized skills to address extremist indoctrination or the complex psychosocial needs of affected minors. The Pemalang case reveals an urgent gap: the absence of a case management system and referral mechanism — especially between the justice sector and child protection and social welfare systems — when handling cases involving minors. This operational gap can be bridged by integrating international child protection principles, such as those in the “Minimum Standards for Child Protection in Humanitarian Action” (CPMS), a “one-stop shop” for the latest child protection resources. These standards outline critical pillars: coordination, trained personnel, case management, and psychosocial support through safe spaces and community-based mechanisms. Applying these standards would mean incorporating components from the child protection system into national policies:

• Coordinated Assessment: Bringing together security, education, child protection, and mental health experts — while integrating a cross-cultural approach — to assess the child holistically. This ensures cultural sensitivities, community norms, and local contexts are considered when evaluating needs and designing interventions.

• Individualized Case Management: Crafting a tailored support and rehabilitation plan emphasizing emotional healing, family engagement, and reintegration.

• Safe Environments: Creating child-friendly spaces, physical or digital, where trust, dialogue, and alternative narratives to radical content can thrive.

• Capacity Building: Training police, educators, and child welfare personnel to identify extremist grooming and respond with sensitivity, not fear.

Prevention Through Empowerment

Beyond individual interventions, building resilience at scale is crucial. The UN and leading scholars emphasize the need to enhance digital literacy, foster critical thinking, and promote credible alternative narratives. Using an ecological framework, this involves strengthening protective factors across four levels: policy and systems, culture and society, community, and family and caregivers.

In Indonesia, initiatives such as PROGRES (a school-based intervention) have shown that prosocial, respectful values and awareness about radicalism can be significantly improved among young students. Teacher-led programs in elementary schools increased prosocial attitudes by over 90 percent and knowledge about radicalism by nearly the same margin. Such programs, combined with broader media literacy campaigns like digital misinformation training, are strategic prevention tools that bolster youth resilience against extremist messaging.

Conclusion: Towards a Child-Centered Counter-Extremism Strategy

The phenomenon of JAD Nusantara exemplifies a new challenge: youth radicalized virtually, with no obvious offline indicators, often stemming from hurt, exclusion, and isolation. Addressing this threat requires an urgent shift in policy, from a purely security-focused model to one firmly rooted in child protection and rights. By aligning with UN standards and mobilizing cross-sector expertise, spanning security, education, mental health, and social services, Indonesia can develop responses that protect children, rehabilitate them, and strengthen community resilience against future extremism. This is more than a policy change; it is an ethical imperative. Children are not only vulnerable and in need of protection, but they also possess agency. That same agency can lead them toward extremist paths, but it can equally empower them to become active participants in building solutions.

This commentary was originally published by the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) on 27 August 2025.