Nurfika Osman – Now those oppressed at school can say they have a voice. Eleven Indonesian students will head to Thailand next month to attend an event protesting against child violence at schools.

Paulan Aji, a spokesman for Plan Indonesia, a nongovernmental organization protecting children's rights, said the two-day event in Bangkok called Young Hearts festival would include various activities promoting a school environment that is free from violence.

Plan Indonesia released a study showing that 43 percent of students in Indonesia experienced varying degrees of violence. The most common types were cases of bullying, sexual harassment, physical violence, corporal punishment and gang violence.

The culprits were usually teachers, other school employees and even parents and other family members. The study had a sample of 1,500 students from Bogor, Jakarta, Surabaya and Yogyakarta.

"We are going to bring the results of our research [to Bangkok] to open people's minds about the dangers of violence in school and that it can happen anywhere," Aji said.

The Bangkok event runs from Oct. 3 to 4 and will be officially opened by Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The students, who will participate in the festival, attend high school at SMA 82 in Jakarta.

"In the festival, the children will be given a chance to speak up against violence at schools on different platforms, including making posters, shooting pictures, creating animation or documentary videos, writing short stories or poems and producing dramas," he added.

Other participating countries include India, Bangladesh, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Based on its annual report, the National Commission for Child Protection (Komnas Anak) confirmed 1,520 cases of child abuse in 2007, a 35 percent increase from the previous year.