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Online hell: Cyberbullying in Indonesia remains vicious and rampant
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Digital concerns: According to UNICEF’s U-Report initiative in 2019, 45 percent of 2,777 Indonesian youths aged 14-24 have experienced cyberbullying, ranging from harassment through chatting applications to unauthorized spread of personal photos or videos. (Unsplash/James Sutton) (Unsplash/James Sutton)
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em>Shocking details aside, the death of a bullied student in Tasikmalaya last July goes to show how widespread cyberbullying remains here.
When the news about a boy who died after having intercourse with a cat surfaced online, Indonesians were left in shock. But the tragedy turned even more disturbing when it was found that he was bullied by his classmates into doing the act.
The incident happened in stages: The boy — an 11-year-old student living in Tasikmalaya, West Java — was coerced by his schoolmates into engaging in bestiality with a cat. They recorded the act and uploaded the video online. When the clip went viral, the boy spiraled into a deep depression and his health rapidly declined in a matter of days. Despite the hospital's help with a suspected typhoid fever from his depressive episode, he passed away on July 18.
“This bullying phenomenon is like an iceberg, and so is child abuse,” head of the National Child Protection Commission (KPAI) for Tasikmalaya, Ato Rinanto, said to The Jakarta Post in a call on July 28.
Ato acknowledged that beyond this case, and two others that the Tasikmalaya KPAI has dealt with this year, many cyberbullying cases remain untouched.
“The only cases we [are able to handle] were the ones that have gone viral online,” he admitted.
