The dynamics of bullying from early 2026 to the present continue\nunabated. Behind neat uniforms and what should be a warm learning\nenvironment, there lie silent stories of children who feel unsafe in\nspaces that should protect them.<\/p>\n
Every time such news is read, the author always wonders: when did\nschools become frightening places for some children? In the past, the\nauthor was convinced that school was a safe second home.<\/p>\n
The problem of bullying in the school environment is not new, but it\nremains an unresolved issue. Data from KPAI (Indonesian Child Protection\nCommission) and Jaringan Pemantau Pendidikan Indonesia (JPPI -\nIndonesian Education Monitoring Network) show that cases of violence\nagainst children increased sharply in 2024, with an increase of more\nthan 100 percent compared to 2023.<\/p>\n
Throughout 2024, 573 cases of bullying were recorded, a significant\nincrease compared to the 285 cases recorded in 2023. Ironically, this\ncycle continues into 2025, where KPAI reports a total of 2,031 cases of\nchild rights violations with 2,063 children affected throughout the\nyear.<\/p>\n
Low Awareness<\/strong><\/p>\n In practice, bullying often manifests in forms considered \u201ctrivial,\u201d\nsuch as teasing, derogatory nicknames, and social exclusion. Many still\nconsider it a normal joke, but KemenPPPA (Ministry of Women Empowerment\nand Child Protection) describes this phenomenon as an iceberg, where\nmany victims are reluctant to report due to fear or shame.<\/p>\n The author remembers a child being teased about their hair, another\ngiven a degrading nickname, and yet another slowly excluded from social\ncircles without drama.<\/p>\n If this continues unchecked, schools may lose their function as safe\nspaces, and the learning process will no longer be a pleasant\nexperience.<\/p>\n The main problem lies in the low awareness of students about the\nimpact of bullying. Many students do not yet understand that simple\nwords they say can hurt others. How often do we hear the sentence:\n\u201cThey\u2019re just kids, it\u2019s normal to joke around.\u201d<\/p>\n In fact, that is precisely the problem. When children are allowed to\nget used to teasing, they are learning that hurting other people\u2019s\nfeelings is okay, as long as it is wrapped in the word \u201cjoke.\u201d<\/p>\n UNICEF Indonesia data from 2020 (re-released in 2024) shows that the\nprevalence of bullying in Indonesia reaches 41 percent among 15-year-old\nstudents, meaning almost half of children that age have been victims. In\naddition, victims often choose to remain silent.<\/p>\n The KPAI revealed that 66.3 percent of child rights violation cases\ndo not include the identity of the perpetrator, which indicates a lack\nof courage from the victim or family to reveal the actual perpetrator.\nFear, shame, and the belief that reporting will not change anything\ncause these cases to continue without adequate handling.<\/p>\n The phenomenon of bullying does not stand alone. The Federation of\nIndonesian Teachers Unions (FSGI) reported that from January to July\n2024, there were 15 cases of violence in educational environments\nclassified as severe and handled by the police, with 5 victims dying due\nto physical violence committed by peers or older students.<\/p>\n This figure shows that weak supervision, lack of enforcement of\nrules, and suboptimal character education are interrelated factors.<\/p>\n From Home<\/strong><\/p>\n On the other hand, the influence of social media also exacerbates the\nsituation, where teasing behavior is often considered funny and worth\nimitating. The 2024 National Survey on Children and Adolescent Life\nExperiences (SNPHAR) confirms that 14.49 percent of boys and 13.78\npercent of girls aged 13-17 have experienced cyberbullying.<\/p>\n Deeper still, this shows that values of empathy and mutual respect\nhave not been truly instilled.<\/p>\n In fact, our religion has long reminded us: \u201cLet not one group mock\nanother, for it is possible that they are better than them\u201d (QS.\nAl-Hujurat: 11).<\/p>\n The impact is also not simple: victims can experience anxiety, loss\nof self-confidence, and in extreme cases, loss of life.<\/p>\n In everyday classroom situations, this is often seen without\nrealizing it. The author once witnessed a simple incident that continues\nto resonate today. In a class, a student came forward to speak. Their\nvoice was soft, slightly hesitant because they were nervous. Suddenly,\nsome friends in the back laughed softly.<\/p>\n Not loud, not long, but enough to make the child immediately stop and\nfreeze in place. That day passed as usual. No one considered it special.\nThe teacher may not have heard it. But for that child, something may\nhave changed forever. Perhaps from that moment on, they chose never to\ntry speaking in public again.<\/p>\n Experiences like this, if allowed to repeat, can trigger long-term\ntrauma for students. Data from the Ministry of Health also recorded\n2,621 cases of bullying in the Doctor Specialist Education program\nthroughout 2025, proving that a culture of bullying has taken root even\nat the higher education level.<\/p>\n From this, it is clear that bullying does not always come in large\nforms; it often comes quietly, in words that are considered light.<\/p>\n According to the author, the approach to bullying in Indonesia is\nstill too reactive. Action is only taken when the problem has occurred\nand gone viral on social media, rather than being prevented from the\nstart. So far, we have been acting after it is too late: after there are\nvictims, after major news shocks the public.<\/p>\n In fact, the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) recorded\nthat throughout 2025, biological fathers (9 percent) and biological\nmothers (8.2 percent) were the most common perpetrators of child rights\nviolations, followed by school officials and other perpetrators.<\/p>\n This shows that character education must start at home.<\/p>",
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