“Indonesian rice farmer Usman has kept his 19-year-old son chained in the family's tiny wooden hut for more than a month, reluctant to release the mentally disturbed boy for fear he might wander off and steal neighbors' livestock. The teenager is one of nearly 20,000 Indonesian victims of mental illness kept in shackles by families and government institutions, an illegal practice President Joko Widodo's administration aims to stamp out by the end of 2017. In a program launched this year, Indonesia sends teams of workers into often-remote hamlets to help free patients kept in chains and ensure they get the medical treatment they need. “The social ministry and agencies across Indonesia recognize that there are still a lot of such cases, so we are determined to end the shackling practice by December 2017”, said Social Affairs Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa. The world's fourth most populous nation has outlawed such shackling for decades but the practice continues, particularly in poor areas”. – Johan Purnomo and Angie Teo via Reuters



Jumiya, whose mother keeps her locked up in a wooden hut after her family said she was showing signs of a mental disorder, eats her lunch alone in Jambu village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. In a programme launched this year, Indonesia sends teams of workers into often-remote hamlets to help free patients kept in chains and ensure they get the medical treatment they need. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





Deden, a teenager whose father says suffers from mental illness, lives chained to a tree under a shelter next to a rice paddy near his family home in Longkewang village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





Madrosik, who suffered from mental illness in the past and was released from chains around his feet two years ago, struggles to walk in Bunihara village in Serang, Indonesia Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





A doctor checks the health of Deden, a teenager whose father says suffers from mental illness and lives chained to a tree under a shelter next to a rice paddy near his family home in Longkewang village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





A man suffering from mental illness sits chained on a bed in his room inside his family home in Curug Sulanjana village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





Jumiya, whose mother keeps her locked up in a wooden hut after her family said she was showing signs of a mental disorder, passes a plastic bowl to her mother in Jambu village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





Deden, a teenager whose father says suffers from mental illness, lives chained to a tree under a shelter next to a rice paddy near his family home in Longkewang village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





An Indonesian mother walks past a wooden hut on her property where her daughter, Jumiya, is locked up because her family said she was showing signs of a mental disorder, in Jambu village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





Jumiya, whose mother keeps her locked up in a wooden hut after her family said she was showing signs of a mental disorder, is handed food by her mother in Jambu village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





A doctor massages the feet of Madrosik who suffered from mental illness in the past and was released from chains on his feet two years ago, in Bunihara village in Serang, Indonesia Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





A man suffering from mental illness sits chained on a bed in his room inside his family home in Curug Sulanjana village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)





Deden, a teenager whose father says suffers from mental illness, lives chained to a tree under a shelter next to a rice paddy near his family home in Longkewang village in Serang, Banten province, Indonesia March 23, 2016. (Photo by Reuters/Beawiharta)