Legislator Affirms Zero Tolerance for Bullying in Jakarta
A member of the Jakarta Regional Legislative Council (DPRD) from the PDI Perjuangan Faction, Hardiyanto Kenneth, has asserted that there must be no room for bullying in Jakarta, whether in school environments, public spaces, social circles, or on social media.
“A city that aspires to be a global city and the centre of Indonesian civilisation must be able to guarantee the safety and comfort of all children from all forms of violence,” he said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
According to him, bullying can no longer be regarded as mere teenage delinquency or simple banter between friends. Such actions are a form of violence that has serious impacts on victims, ranging from a loss of security and decreased self-confidence to mental health disorders and potential threats to life.
“Bullying is an act that cannot be tolerated in any form,” he stated.
He noted that children must grow up in a safe and healthy environment and are entitled to protection from all forms of intimidation, physical violence, verbal abuse, social exclusion, and cyberbullying.
He assessed that the phenomenon of bullying is becoming increasingly worrying due to its diversifying forms. In addition to physical violence, many cases occur through verbal insults, extortion, seniority-based intimidation, and cyberbullying, which has a much wider reach and is harder to control.
He stated that many victims choose to remain silent due to fear, shame, or worry about facing greater pressure. “As a result, bullying cases are often only discovered after causing deep trauma. This condition must not be allowed to continue,” he said.
Child protection must be a shared responsibility involving all parties, including local government, schools, families, law enforcement, community organisations, and the surrounding environment. He added that the public needs to understand that bullying carries clear legal consequences.
If bullying involves elements of physical violence, assault, threats, coercion, or results in injury and trauma to the victim, perpetrators can be prosecuted under applicable laws. “There should be no assumption that bullying is a normal occurrence. If it meets the elements of a criminal offence, there are certainly legal consequences that must be accounted for,” he said.
Even in cases involving children as perpetrators, he continued, the Juvenile Criminal Justice System mechanism can still be applied, prioritising rehabilitation alongside a deterrent effect.
He also assessed that the issue of bullying does not only relate to the perpetrators. There are environmental factors that contribute, such as weak parental supervision, low character education, a misguided culture of seniority, a lack of social empathy, and suboptimal reporting and assistance systems for victims.
He urged the Jakarta Provincial Government to strengthen comprehensive policies for the prevention and handling of bullying. Steps deemed necessary include strengthening character education and digital literacy in schools, ensuring the availability of safe reporting mechanisms that support victims, expanding psychological counselling services, increasing supervision in child-friendly public spaces, and imposing strict sanctions on those who allow such acts to occur.
Furthermore, he called upon parents to be more active in monitoring their children’s development and psychological condition. He believes many bullying cases can be prevented if changes in a child’s behaviour are detected early. Parents must be present in their children’s lives, paying attention to changes in attitude, emotion, academic achievement, and social patterns.
“We must not let children become victims or even perpetrators of bullying without the family’s knowledge,