TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - When videos emerged last week showing violence against a student with a disability at the Gunadarma University, Kelapa Dua, Depok, and against two elementary school students in Tanah Abang, Jakarta, we were stunned. This violence happened in a school and on a campus, which are supposed to be safe places where young people can grow and develop.
There is no justification for violence against anybody be they disabled or not. The incident at Gunadarma is a perfect example of our incapacity to accept people with disabilities in our society. Instead of helping their disabled friend, several students taunted him, even throwing trash at him. For an incident like this, expressions of regret are not enough. There must be serious efforts to get to know and accept disabled people in schools and in social settings in general.
This could be achieved through education in families and through lesson plans at different levels of education. Teachers need to instill in students from an early age a respect for human dignity, no matter what differences there are in another person's physique and mind. An education process that helps disabled children to grow into independent adults needs the support of families, schools and, most importantly, friends as people closest to them.
The 12-month ban from campus imposed by the Gunadarma authorities and the transfer to another school and rehabilitation for students of State Junior High School 273 and Muhammadiyah 6 Junior High School, Jakarta--for the abuse of the elementary school students--must not be the end of the matter. This kind of violence has occurred repeatedly. In Jakarta in 2012, students from Don Bosco Senior High School (SMA) taunted new students. Two years later, State SMA 70 sent 13 grade 12 students home to their parents for allegedly injuring new students during orientation week. In 2016, students from SMA 3 abused their juniors, pouring water over them and forcing them to wear bras over their clothes and to smoke cigarettes.
These cases have been discussed by psychologists and education stakeholders, and various solutions have been proposed. The incident last week forces us to look at ourselves honestly: are we still going nowhere in dealing with bullying in schools, and how much progress has our education system made in providing room for disabled students to receive an education that is safe, happy and effective?
Disabled children usually study in special schools. The government, through the Education Ministry, needs to seriously use discretion so that special schools are no longer the only choice. Disabled children must be given the option of being placed in ordinary schools. This would need special preparations, from teaching methods and guidance from teachers when studying to instill the idea of support for disabled kids in our schools.
Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary (1991) defines bullying as repeated negative behavior by a person who feels stronger toward a person they see as weaker. Bullies see their victims as targets who are easy to abuse and who lack the courage to fight back. This view must be changed totally. An effective way to stop bullying is to clearly oppose it.
There are potential bullies at every level of education. They must be stopped before it is too late. Teachers need to nurture empathy and control of emotions, to stop bullying against disabled students from happening again.
Read the full story in this week’s edition of Tempo English Magazine
