Like many other countries, there is a strong culture of bullying amongst school children in Indonesia that can leave the victims feeling depressed, often so depressed that they end up taking their own lives.
Yesterday, Social Minister Khofifah Indar Parawansa said that 40 percent of children in Indonesia who die from suicide do so as a result of bullying.
“Today, 40 percent of children that commit suicide do so because of bullying,” Khofifah said while talking to students at the State University of Surabaya (UNS) on Monday as quoted by Liputan6.
Khofifah called on all educational institutes to put a stop to the culture of bullying amongst their students. She also said it was important for teachers to strengthen the character of their students to prevent bullying.
Khofifah said she even knew of instances where student had cut their own wrists after being taunted to do so through SMS messages from their bullies.
“This should not happen again. And it will takes a tremendous effort,” Khofifah said.
