Bullying At School Doesn't Stop, Who's Wrong?

Illustration of bullying in schools. (Between/Pexels/Mikhail Nilov)

JAKARTA The case of bullying that has occurred again in the school environment has raised the concern and anger of many parties. But unfortunately, bullying or bullying in schools continues to emerge every year. Who should be responsible for stopping it?

Recently, the public has been shocked by the bullying case that occurred at the Binus School High School in Serpong, South Tangerang. Apart from involving artist Vincent Rompies' children, this case also confiscated public attention because bullying seemed to be ingrained, as if it had become a culture. In fact, bullying not only had a negative impact on the victim, but also the perpetrator.

When the issue of bullying re-emerged and became a headline in the national media, the public also wondered who really should be responsible for this recurring incident? Parents, schools, or yes, the child himself is the perpetrator.

In his statement, the Head of PPA of the South Tangerang Police, Ipda Galih Dwi Nuryanti, said that the victim of bullying at Binus School Serpong High School suffered bruises and burns. At that time, the victim was said to have been tied to a pole until he was beaten using a wooden block and allegedly burned by cigarettes.

Galih still said that the action was carried out by more than one perpetrator and occurred twice. According to the rumors circulating, the bullying was carried out as one of the conditions to enter the perpetrator's gang.

This news then became the attention of the Federation of Indonesian Teachers' Unions (FSGI) which urged that school gangs who often bullied be disbanded. It's nothing, FSGI assesses that the existence of school gangs only has a negative impact on children's growth and development.

"FSGI urges the Ministry of Education and Culture to immediately intervene in handling cases of student violence at Binus International School," said FSGI Expert Council Chairman Retno Listyarti in a written statement, Tuesday (20/2/2024).

"Schools are now mushrooming in various schools, therefore FSGI encourages education agencies in various regions together with the Ministry of Education and Culture to think about the right ways and therapies to prevent and dissolve school gangs that have the potential to commit various violence," he said.

What FSGI says cannot be underestimated. According to Clinical and Forensic Psychologist Kasandra Putranto, the environment took part in influencing children's behavior at school. He said the pressure from friends to show certain behaviors, including naughty behavior, could affect how children behave at school.

"Children may feel more free or more confident in expressing the different side of themselves in the school environment," Kasandra told VOI.

They may express themselves in different ways to get the attention or positive recognition from their friends. This can make them more daring to express themselves or behave more freely. Children may adapt their behavior to the norms they see in each environment," he continued.

What the perpetrators have done, if it is proven as spread on social media, is both concerning and terrible. For some people, the cruel actions carried out by these gang personnel are beyond reason.

Kasandra Putranto explained that the bullying action carried out by the perpetrators was not without reason. Although the environment or in this case, friends have a role, parents have the most important role in building children's character during their growth and development by establishing open communication.

"Parents' support during the child's growth and development period is absolutely necessary. Parents need to recognize their child's psychological profile from an early age, by building open communication, listening to them with full attention without judging or judging them," said Kasandra.

"Education on empathy and tolerance is very important, by teaching children about empathy, tolerance, and appreciation for differences," he added.

A similar opinion was also conveyed by a child psychologist at Padjadjaran University, Fitrian Hararti. He said bad parenting was one of the causes of bullying.

"Many parents are unconsciously bullying their children," he said, quoted by Antara.

He conveyed that one example of bullying by parents is comparing the children's abilities with other people. Especially if parents make demeaning comments to encourage or motivate children.

When parents are used to bullying, children are threatened with becoming victims of similar actions outside the home due to lack of confidence. However, the bigger threat is that children imitate their parents' actions and become perpetrators of bullying.

"Children are great imitators and parents are the model, so don't expect to have good children with noble and intelligent character if their own parents are not smart in educating their children," he said.