KPAI Highlights The Rise Of Student Beatings And Brawls Since PTM Beginning In 2022

DOC VIA BETWEEN / HO SPECIAL

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) has highlighted the many cases of beatings and brawls during face-to-face learning (PTM) since early 2022.

"It turns out that the COVID-19 pandemic has not stopped teenagers from getting into fights. Apart from brawls, there was an incident where a teenager beat up a teenager whose video went viral," said KPAI Commissioner Retno Listyarti in a statement, Friday, June 24.

Based on KPAI's monitoring results, there were a number of areas where student brawls were recorded, namely in Pati Regency (Central Java), East Jakarta (DKI Jakarta), Bogor City and Sukabumi (West Java), Tangerang Regency (Banten), Sumbawa (West Nusa Tenggara). , and Soppeng (South Sulawesi).

Then four cases of beatings occurred in Cimahi City (West Java), Semarang City (Central Java), South Jakarta (DKI Jakarta) and Kotamobagu City (North Sulawesi).

One of the beating cases in the form of physical bullying that was highlighted by KPAI was the case of an MTs student in Kotamobagu, North Sulawesi.

The abuse case began when the victim was going to the prayer room for prayers on Wednesday, June 8. When he entered the prayer room, the victim was caught and thrown to the floor by his friends. The victim's hands were held, the face was covered with a prayer mat and the victim's body was kicked.

After the incident, the victim was taken to a hospital in Manado on Saturday, June 11, 2022. Unfortunately, the victim's life was not saved and died on June 12, 2022.

"It's really sad that the incident occurred in a school environment, which should be a safe environment for students," said Retno.

From these cases, Retno encourages parents to monitor their children's activities regularly, such as through social media as a form of prevention. Bearing in mind that beatings and brawls are often preceded by bullying each other on social media, it can be a trigger. "Parents and other adults around children should be friends and regularly monitor their children's social media activities, so that parents can anticipate the potential for physical violence or beatings," said Retno.

In addition, Retno also encouraged the government and education units to build a system for preventing violence in schools. Then, Retno also asked the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology to revise Permendikbud Number 82 of 2015 related to handling violence based on the best interests of children.

Retno views that so far, students who are involved in violence are always given a sanction to be expelled from school or not promoted to grade. The impact of expelling students who commit violence can make these students drop out of school or drop out.

"Even if they are accepted in other schools, children who are perpetrators of violence do not necessarily have a deterrent effect, in fact they often transfer their violence to other places. Schools often do not see the root cause of why a child commits violence, here the role of the Guidance Counseling (BK) teacher and homeroom teacher is very important," said Retno.