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Bullying

What is bullying?

This is the Anti-Bullying Alliance’s definition of bullying: “The repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power.”

  • People are often bullied because of a difference. That could be their race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, an aspect of their appearance, or something else. Bullying can be:
  • Physical – for example pushing, kicking, hitting, biting, pinching
  • Verbal – for example teasing, belittling, spreading rumours, threats, sarcasm
  • Emotional – for example ridicule, humiliation, threatening gestures, intimidating, excluding and isolating others, manipulation and coercion
  • Sexual – for example unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, homophobic abuse, exposure to inappropriate films
  • Online/cyber – for example posting on social media, sharing photos, sending nasty messages, social exclusion.

 

 

Disagreements and falling out are a normal part of relationships, whether that’s in someone’s relationships with their friends and family, at work, with neighbours or with people who are paid to help take care of them. It can be difficult and upsetting, and sometimes it can be hard to tell when the way someone is treating another person crosses the line from disagreement to bullying. Some of the key differences are that bullying is something which happens repeatedly, and one person usually has power over the other person, for example a person’s manager at work.

 

 

What to do if you think someone is being bullied

Let them know that they can talk to you about how they are feeling. Keeping a record of what has been happening will help them to explain the situation to the people or service who are best placed to do something about it. Encourage the person not to get back at the person or group who are bullying them – they could get hurt or get themselves into trouble. While the bullying is still going on, it is important for them to look after themselves and try to remember that they deserve to be cared about and treated with respect.  Maybe offer to do things with them that make them feel good about themselves, and remind them of what you like about them.

(please insert image from cyp tile here.  The “anti-bullying alliance” image with 6 steps to take if you’re being bullied)

 

If you think that someone you know might be experiencing domestic abuse, please check our Relationships page (hyperlink to “Relationships” tile).