EQUITABLE LEGAL PROTECTION FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL DISORDERS (ODGJ) IN INDONESIA

The phenomenon of ODGJ being shackled by his own family due to difficulties in getting access to mental health services or because of limited funds is still common in Indonesia. This can be confirmed from data put forward by Human Rights Watch regarding an estimate that there are 57,000 people in Indonesia who suffer from mental disorders or psychosocial disorders who have been shackled at least once in their lives. One of the main regulations to protect ODGJ in Indonesia is the Act Number 18 of 2014 on Mental Health. It contains preventive and repressive legal protection. However, the repressive legal protection is still weak and need to be revised in the spirit of providing a just legal protection for ODGJ. This research is a normative legal research; the data used are primary, secondary, tertiary data which are analyzed using descriptive analysis method. The results of the study are: First, ODGJ as part of vulnerable group’s should get a fair legal protection in Indonesia, should be considered as a dignified legal subject whose basic rights must be respected and fulfilled. Second, Government as legal subject that mandated by the Law to provide mental health facilities and maintain ODGJ rights can be subjected to criminal provision in the future.