Bullying in Islamic Boarding Schools: Islamic and Criminal Law Perspectives

Bullying in Criminal Law

Bullying is an act of child abuse. Therefore, based on the Child Protection Law  and its amendments, bullying  is included as a  criminal offense. Both physical and verbal bullying are regulated in  Article 76C of Law 35/2014 as follows:

Every person is prohibited from placing, allowing, committing, ordering to commit, or participating in violence against children.

Furthermore, perpetrators who violate this article will be subject to sanctions in accordance with Article 80 of Law 35/2014, namely:

1. Any person who violates the provisions of Article 76C of Law 35/2014 shall be sentenced to a maximum imprisonment of 3 years and 6 months and/or a maximum fine of IDR 72 million.
2. If the child is seriously injured, the perpetrator is sentenced to imprisonment for a maximum of 5 years and/or a maximum fine of Rp100 million.
3. If the child dies, the perpetrator is sentenced to imprisonment for a maximum of 15 years and/or a maximum fine of Rp3 billion.
4. The punishment shall be increased by one third of the provisions in paragraphs (1), (2) and (3) if the offender is a parent.

That is the description of the phenomenon of bullying that often occurs in Islamic boarding schools and the perspective of Islamic law and criminal law in taking action against bullying behavior.