BPS: Boys More Often Victims of Bullying

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) in its report titled *Indonesia's Sustainable Development Goals Indicators 2022*, the majority of students experiencing bullying in Indonesia are male.

The report notes that male students dominated the victims of bullying cases in Indonesia in the categories of grade 5 elementary school, grade 8 junior high school, and grade 11 senior high school/vocational school in the last year of 2021.

The details are as follows: the percentage of bullying cases in the grade 5 elementary school category for male students was 31.6%, followed by females at 21.64%, and nationally at 26.8%.

Then, the percentage of bullying cases in the grade 8 junior high school category for male students reached 32.22%, the highest among other grade and gender categories. This was followed by female students at 19.97%, and nationally at 26.32%.

Meanwhile, the percentage of bullying cases in the grade 11 senior high school/vocational school category for male students was 19.68%, followed by females at 11.26%, and nationally at 15.54%.

"The percentage of male students experiencing bullying is higher than that of female students," said BPS in its report.

A Bullying Emergency in the Education World

Commissioner of the Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) Aries Adi Leksono said that Indonesia is experiencing an emergency of violence against children, especially in the world of education. This is due to the rampant bullying in the country that has occurred recently.

"In the last week, our education world has been experiencing an emergency of violence, as evidenced by the rampant bullying and other forms of violence in educational institutions in several regions," said Aries as reported by *Kompas.com*, Friday (6/10/2023).

He cited several bullying incidents that occurred in Jakarta, Cilacap, Demak, Gresik, Lamongan, Balikpapan, and various other areas that have not been revealed. According to Aries, the phenomenon of bullying is like an iceberg, as only viral cases are highlighted.

"Others are still unreported; one case is handled, but many more cases are neglected," said Aries.

Moreover, Aries continued, KPAI data until August 2023 recorded 810 cases of violence against children in school and social environments. "This data tends to increase every month, so it needs joint attention to suppress the decrease in the number of cases of violence against children, especially in educational institutions," he said.

According to Aries, the educational environment must be safe and comfortable for children, so that children's growth and development can be maximized. "Therefore, all parties need to take action to address the emergency situation of violence in educational institutions, including the central and regional governments, families, the community, educational institutions, and students themselves," he said.

Previously, a bullying case that had been in the public spotlight in recent weeks was the bullying case of victim FF (14) in Cilacap, Central Java. The bullying video went viral on social media on Tuesday (26/9/2023). In the recording, a person wearing a hat was seen hitting and kicking the victim. Both the victim and the perpetrator were from the same school.

Another bullying case that came under scrutiny involved R (13), an elementary school student who died after jumping from the fourth floor of her school in South Jakarta. According to police statements, R was involved in a pushing incident with her friend, H.