Prevent Violence To Bullying, There Must Be A Child Protection Ecosystem

JAKARTA - In commemoration of National Children's Day (2023) which is celebrated every July 23, Commission VIII of the DPR RI highlighted the issue of violence to bullying that still haunts the nation's next generation. Therefore, the Government is encouraged to create a protection ecosystem for children.

Deputy Chairman of Commission VIII DPR RI Tubagus Ace Hasan Syadzily said it was the state's responsibility to guarantee children's basic rights. Among other things, the right to security, the right to education to the right to health.

"The state needs to be present to ensure that children are protected from various problems. Especially how the Government must create a protection ecosystem for children and a child-friendly environment," said Ace, Monday, July 24.

Commission VIII of the DPR, which is one of its duties related to child protection, provided a number of notes on National Children's Day 2023. Ace hopes that various issues that are in the spotlight of Commission VIII can get more attention so that they do not continue to be sustainable.

"I note various problems faced by Indonesian children today. Among other things, violence against children is still quite high, bullying, child marriage, children in conflict with the law, dependence on devices and drugs," he said.

Based on data from the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA), there were 21,241 children who were victims of domestic violence in 2022. The types of violence most experienced by children were physical violence (3,746 cases), psychological violence (4,162 cases), and sexual violence (9,588 cases).

Therefore, Ace considers cases of violence against children to be homework for the state. He stressed that the Government needs to make various efforts to prevent and deal with violence against children.

"In addition, the Government needs to work hard to increase law enforcement against perpetrators of violence against children. Perpetrators of violence against children must be punished firmly so that they do not repeat their actions. I believe that every child has the right to grow and develop safely and happily," said Ace.

Meanwhile, regarding bullying or bullying in children, the legislator from the West Java II electoral district touched on the incident of school burning carried out by a student of SMPN 2 Pringsutat, Temanggung. The burning was triggered by the heartache of the students of the perpetrators as a result of being bullied by his own friends and teachers.

Psychological effects in children who become victims of bullying affect their behavior and decisions in the future. Many criminal events are also triggered by bullying," he said.

"This phenomenon must be our common concern so that we find comprehensive solutions to prevent bullying and impacts that can occur," added Ace.

According to him, the incident in Temanggung is proof of how a child victim of bullying can act recklessly without considering his good and bad. Therefore, Ace said there must be cross-agency cooperation to overcome the problem of bullying.

"The state needs to be serious about supervision, plus education to the public about the dangers of bullying and assistance for victims," he said.

The case of bullying in Indonesia itself is indeed quite worrying, where the Federation of Indonesian Teachers' Unions (FSGI) noted that at least 12 cases of bullying had been revealed in schools for January to May 2023 alone.

Furthermore, Ace mentioned the case of child marriage which is still quite high in Indonesia. In HAN 2023, the deceased carries the theme 'Protected Child, Advanced Indonesia', which contains a sub-theme, namely stopping child marriage.

Socialization and education to stop child marriage are very important. Indeed, child marriage in a number of areas has become a culture, but by educating them that it is a violation of children, we hope that the trend of child marriage can decrease," said Ace.

Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in 2022, there are 1.2 million girls in Indonesia who married before the age of 18. This figure shows that child marriage is still a serious problem in Indonesia.

There are various factors for the rise of child marriages in Indonesia, ranging from financial problems to traditions. For this reason, Ace encourages the Government to intensify socialization regarding the impact of physical and mental health, social impacts, to the economic impact of households if the child is married when it is not yet time.

"The government must be diligent in providing education about the negative impact if children are not mentally ready but are forced to build households," he said.

"Children have the right to grow and develop in a healthy and happy manner. Marriage can prevent children from achieving their full potential," Ace continued.

On the other hand, Commission VIII of the DPR supports the Government's efforts to make the 2023 HAN commemoration a momentum for parents to guard their children to be smart in social media in order to lead to the golden generation. Ace reminded that many worrying cases are currently emerging as a result of children being addicted to gadgets, and some even have to undergo a rehabilitation session.

Parents and family supervision is needed in this case. Be a good role model for children, show children how to use social media wisely because a lot of content on social media is quite dangerous so they must be screened such as violent content, pornography, and hate speech," he explained.

These content can affect children's behavior and make them take risky and dangerous actions. Let's protect our children from the negative impact of social media," continued Ace.