HARMONI DI RUMAH, AMAN DI LUAR

Purpose: Verbal bullying is the most common form of bullying experienced by children, manifested through inappropriate and abusive language. This form of bullying poses serious threats to children’s psychological and physical well being and has developed into a critical social problem. Therefore, comprehensive prevention efforts are required, addressing not only victims and perpetrators but also the social environment that enables bullying, including the role of bystanders. Family communication is considered a key preventive mechanism. This community service program focuses on strengthening victims through the optimization of family communication and indirectly contributes to preventing the emergence of new perpetrators. Methodology: This activity employed a counseling based approach on verbal bullying and its prevention, delivered to community members involved in the Family Welfare Empowerment organization at the neighborhood level in Pondok Labu, South Jakarta. The program emphasized increasing parental awareness and communication competence in addressing verbal bullying within the family context. Findings: The counseling results indicate that the quality of family communication significantly contributes to the development of resilient and adaptive children. Open and supportive communication between parents and children was identified as a fundamental strategy to minimize severe psychological harm among child victims of violence, including verbal bullying. Practical Implications: The findings highlight the importance of empowering parents as primary agents of prevention. Warm, empathetic, and open communication functions not only as a parenting tool but also as a protective mechanism that prevents children from becoming victims or perpetrators of bullying. In addition, community based prevention involving neighborhood and local administrative units fosters a child friendly social environment that collectively rejects verbal bullying practices. Originality Value: This program offers a paradigm shift in early intervention by positioning the family ecosystem as the frontline of bullying prevention. The approach emphasizes strengthening family communication rather than focusing solely on psychoeducation about bullying, thereby building interpersonal communication competence within families as a sustainable protective mechanism.