Future’s Damage of the Indonesian Nation Due to Violent Bullying

 
Bullying violence has become a familiar phenomenon in Indonesia and abroad.
According to the National Commission on Human Rights, bullying can be defined as a form of
long-term physical and psychological violence committed by a person or group against someone
unable to defend himself from a situation that has the desire to hurt, fear, be depressed,
traumatized, depression, and helplessness. The Indonesian Child Protection Commission noted
that there were 37,381 complaints of violence against children from 2011 to 2019. For bullying
both in education and social media, the figure reached 2,473 reports and the case continues to
increase. The high number of cases of bullying violence is due to the weak enforcement of child
protection laws in Indonesia. Indonesia has the responsibility to guarantee and protect children's
rights as stated in the 1945 Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia Article 28B paragraph (2).
This Article states that "Every child has the right to live, grow and develop and the right to
protection from violence and discrimination". Besides, child protection has also been legalized in
the Convention on the Rights of the Child through Presidential Decree No. 36 of 1990 and
several laws and regulations such as Law No. 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection, Law No.
39 of 1999 concerning Human Rights, and Law No. 11 of 2012 concerning the Child Criminal
Justice System. However, all these regulations are useless if they are unable to protect children
from violent bullying. 
The majority of bullying violence comes from the world of education. Bullying occurs at
almost all grade levels starting from elementary school, junior high school, senior high school,
vocational school, and even universities. Based on research, it is estimated that 10% of children
in school experience bullying. Bullying that occurs at school is due to aggressive behavior
repeated by a person/group of students who has power over weaker students and has the goal of
hurting them. Bullies are children who have little or no empathy and low prosocial behavior,
while bullies tend to have low self-esteem, have a clinical history of depression, anxiety, and can
even commit suicide. This is evidenced by a cross-sectional study for 20 years which states that
there is a relationship between bullying behavior and suicide. It was also reported that younger
children at school were more likely to experience bullying by older children and that more
bullying was experienced by boys. However, women experience more depression than men.
Ironically, this incident is considered by the public as normal and should not be a problem
because bullying is just a way for children to play. Of course, this is not true if bullying is seen as
a game by society. Therefore, it is very important to know the impact of violent bullying. 
In the short term, bullying will lead to feelings of insecurity, isolation, feelings of low
self-esteem, depression, stress, and even suicide. If this continues for a long time, victims of
bullying will experience emotional and behavioral problems. The impact of bullying can threaten
all parties involved, such as children who are being bullied, children who are bullying, children
who witness bullying, and schools that have bullying issues. Bullying violence can affect a
child's physical and mental health. Based on the official website of the kemenpppa.go.id, state
that victims of bullying will experience depression, anger, low attendance, low academic
achievement, decreased intelligence test scores (IQ), and analytical skills. On the other hand, the
perpetrator who commits bullying will think of himself as a person who has power over the
situation so that if it is allowed to continue without intervention, this can lead to other behavior
in the form of violence against children and other criminal behavior. Then, children who witness
bullying (bystanders) will assume that this action is socially acceptable and feel intimidated so
that they will join in the bullying for fear of being the next target. And, worst of all some
children just stay quiet and do not feel the need to stop it. The many serious impacts of bullying
violence make bullying a criminal act in Law No. 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection.
Therefore, it is necessary to conduct socialization by law enforcement officials to parents so they
can understand the impact of bullying and it is hoped that cases of bullying can be minimized.
In Indonesian law, children as perpetrators of bullying can be subject to criminal
sanctions while still paying attention to children's rights. According to Law No. 11 of 2012
concerning the Juvenile Criminal Justice System, two types of criminal sanctions are used at the
same time, namely crime and action (double track system). Then, this is confirmed in Article 69
paragraph (1) of the SPPA Law which states that a child who commits an act against the law can
only be sentenced to crime or subject to action based on the provisions of this law. The action in
question is to provide guidance and guidance so that the bullying can be accepted back in the
community. However, efforts are made so that the child is not sentenced to imprisonment
because it will have a negative psychological impact on the child. The placement of children in a
correctional facility can be a last resort and be carried out in the shortest possible time frame.
Also, if seen in Article 64 of Law No. 35 of 2014 concerning Child Protection, a child who
conflicts with the law will receive special protection because this is the responsibility and
obligation of the government and society. With the application of sanctions, it is hoped that
children who were formerly bullying actors can become the hope of the nation, grow even better,
and not repeat their mistakes. On the other hand, the existence of these sanctions can be a
warning for children not to commit criminal acts including bullying.
To create a world that is safe and provides a sense of justice for children, it is necessary
to tackle bullying. These efforts can use penal policies (criminal law) and non-penal policies
(outside criminal law). The penal policy is used when a criminal act has occurred and goes
through a legal process in court. This policy can use existing laws and regulations such as Article
170 paragraph (1) and (2) of the Criminal Code, Articles 351 to Article 355 of the Criminal
Code, and Article 80 of Law No. 35 of 2014. However, penal measures are only carried out if the
bullying case falls into the realm of law and generally the best way to deal with bullying before
entering the legal process is through amicable peace. Besides, in dealing with bullying cases that
occur in schools it can be through an academic process or academic sanctions. Meanwhile, non-
penal efforts to combat bullying are preventive measures through socializing the consequences of
bullying to children, children's rights as victims of bullying, and providing awareness to children
that bullying is a despicable act and should not be done.
Therefore, we as the nation's future need to know how bad bullying is because victims of
bullying will experience a heavy burden, such as physical, mental, and psychological disorders.
So, keep in mind that by bullying, you don't deserve to feel great because bullying is unethical
and damages the future of other children. If you want to feel great and carry out the role of the
nation's successor, then stop bullying and do your best to develop yourself.