Bullying Children In Indonesia Is Increasingly Disturbing, How To Prevent It?

JAKARTA - The government must immediately find a solution to the rampant cases of bullying in Indonesia, especially child bullying.

The number of bullying cases has made Indonesia currently in a bullying emergency situation. The state should not allow bullying cases to continue without a comprehensive solution, especially for bullying involving children as victims and perpetrators," said DPR Speaker Puan Maharani, Friday, September 29.

As is known, many child bullying cases are currently in the spotlight. After the case of a school child whose eyes were stabbed by a cilok/bakso stab causing blindness, the latest cases emerged of bullying of junior high school students until the victim suffered a broken ribs.

The perpetrator and the victim are students of SMP 2 Cimanggu, Cilacap, Central Java. In the case of bullying that led to the persecution, the police have determined two perpetrators who have now been arrested.

Puan emphasized the importance of schools prioritizing character education to build a positive mentality for students. He encouraged the Government through the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology (Kemendikbudristek) to create a curriculum to build positive student character.

"It is very important that character education is again included in the curriculum in schools, because it becomes a moral planting capital for children," explained Puan.

"Education is not only about academic achievements, but also about forming a strong character and mentality in students," continued the first woman who served as Chair of the DPR RI.

Puan said that student citizenship education in schools needs to be equipped with moral education and characterization for children. He mentioned the number of cases in schools where the current study focuses more on the academic element alone.

"In fact, moral cultivation through character education is needed by our children so that they can become the next generation of a nation that is dignified, cultured, as well as moral and has strong character," said Puan.

"Schools should be a vehicle to develop individuals responsible, empathetic, and well-behaved," he added.

Puan also highlighted the impact of bullying on victims and perpetrators. He asked the Government to map out the factors that caused rampant cases of bullying in the country.

Given the data compiled by the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) and the Federation of Indonesian Teachers' Unions (FSGI), bullying cases are still a terror for children in the school environment. From this data, it is known that 226 cases were bullied in 2022. Then in 2021 there were 53 cases, and in 2020 there were 119 cases.

Meanwhile, the types of bullying that victims often experience are physical bullying (55.5%), verbal bullying (29.3%), and psychological bullying (15.2%). For the level of education, elementary school students are the most bullying victims (26%), followed by junior high school (25%) students, and high school students (18.75%).

This is just what is recorded. Because we know that the practice of bullying is often encountered in various levels of the environment. It must be a common concern for the magnitude of the impact of bullying," explained Puan.

The former Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture explained that bullying could be caused by many factors. According to Puan, bullying can be caused from the surrounding environment, as well as from internal family.

"So the handling cannot be done alone because it is related to each other. Many cases were found, the perpetrator acted bullying because he was also a victim of bullying. The factor in the lack of support system and freeness of content on social media can also be the cause," he said.

Therefore, Puan encourages the Government to resolve the phenomenon of more specifically bullying cases, especially those involving children. Moreover, the impact of bullying can make children depressed to death.

There are so many examples of children who are depressed and then take reckless actions. One of the reasons is because they are often bullied. Bullying is not a trivial matter," said Puan.

The problem of bullying has caused many victims, both physically and psychologically. The government must look for the best approach to prevent and at the same time overcome the rise of cases of bullying, especially in schools," he said.

Puan assessed that there needs to be special handling of child bullying cases involving various agencies. Starting from the Ministry of Education and Culture, Ministry of Religion (Kemenag), Ministry of Youth and Sports (Kemenpora), Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (KemenPPPA), National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN), Ministry of Health (Kemenkes), Police, to community institutions that focus on child protection.

"Because of the problem of bullying, there are so many slices. How does it take support from the Government to create family resilience to ensure that children can grow physically and mentally well," said Puan.

"Special handling is also important so that the investigation of child bullying cases can run optimally. Because in child bullying, the perpetrators and victims are both minors, so they require special treatment and assistance, including the justice system," he continued.