Youths from the Sudah Dong community stage an anti-bullying rally on Jl. MH Thamrin in Central Jakarta on Sunday (23/7) to raise awareness about preventing harassment or bullying in various places, including social media.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Acts of bullying that involve school and university students do not only occur around the capital city of Jakarta, but also in almost every area in Indonesia. The number of bullying cases by children has increased in the last six years.
Based on data from the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI), between 2011 and 2016, the number of bullying cases involving children as perpetrators reached 1,024. Jabodetabek (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, Bekasi) and Bandung saw the most cases, which reached a total of 487, followed by North Sumatra (37), Aceh (35), East Java (32), West Sumatra (30) and Lampung (22).
It is believed that there are actually more cases of bullying in the country, as not all incidents have been reported to the KPAI.
One of the latest cases of bullying is one that involved 14 students in Thamrin City mall in Central Jakarta. The 14 students, who are from different schools, recorded their harassment of an elementary school student. The video was then uploaded onto social media. The students did so without considering the consequences.
“I did not think it would end up like this,” said HR, 13, one of the perpetrators.
Another incident that has gone viral on social media is the bullying of MF, 19, a special needs student at Gunadarma University, Central Jakarta. The perpetrator and the other nine students involved in the act have received sanctions, including a written warning and six-to 12-month suspensions from the university.
In other regions
Cases of bullying have also emerged in other regions. An eight-grade student from State Junior High School SMP in Medan, North Sumatra, was the target of bullying in his school last week, with students mocking him for being overweight.
“A lot of students make fun of me by calling me ‘fatty,’” he said, adding that the harassment also carried over to social media.
These examples add to the long list of bullying by children that have spread on social media. Last March, a two-minute video on YouTube went viral and has been watched over 30,000 times. The video shows a group of state junior high school students beating up R, a student from a different junior high school.
Didin Mauludin, deputy headmaster of State Junior High School SMPN 1 Suranenggala, said that such cases are triggered by trivial matters. The victim and the five perpetrators are all members of a gang. However, the victim had decided to join another gang. His friends vented their anger and recorded the incident so that there would be no more “traitors” like the victim.
Reflection of family
Diana Mutia, an educational psychologist from Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University (UIN) in Jakarta said that the spread of photos and videos showing bullying on social media indicates that children cannot differentiate between good and bad behavior.
“This is a reflection of the [behavior] they absorb from their family and surrounding environment,” she said.
According to Diana, it is human nature to want to show one’s ability to others. In good education, the desire to show off is channeled through achievements. However, if children received bad parenting, the desire to demonstrate their ability is shown through violence and oppressing those they consider as weaker.
Diana said that this is a chronic problem in Indonesian society. The function of family resilience has faded, because the quality of communication between parents and children has slackened.
Semai Jiwa Amini Foundation (Sejiwa) chairman Diena Haryana views teen bullying as an old phenomenon. However, with the development of social media, the acts of bullying have been further exposed; they can now be seen clearly.
Diena, who actively observes the issue of bullying in the realm of education, said that the young generation is proud about gaining followers on social media and get many “likes” for their posts.
“These children don’t think long-term about the consequences of their actions. They want to get acknowledgement and are satisfied if they are seen as being brave, for example,” she said.
According to Diena, both the victims and the perpetrators of bullying need protection, which would involve a number of parties.
With regards to sanctions given to the perpetrators, Diena said that they do not have to be given by schools. Because adults around the children, such as their teachers and parents, have the responsibility to guide the perpetrators to change and become a positive individual.
The Culture and Education Ministry’s director-general for secondary education Hamid Muhammad said that the ministry offers a guide for dealing with, sanctioning and preventing bullying.
“The sanction, of course, is educational in nature,” he said.
This guide refers to Culture and Education Ministry Regulation No. 82/2015 on the Prevention and Handling of Violence in an Education Unit Environment. The regulation emphasizes that the rights of children (perpetrators and victims) should not be compromised.
