What is bullying?
One in 10 young people at secondary school are being bullied. It happens in the workplace too, when a bossy colleague or manager forces you to do stuff against your will, or excludes you in some way. Some young people accept this and try to carry on despite being treated badly. It could be happening to you directly or to someone you know at school or work.
Bullying could be:
- being called names or teased.
- being pushed, pulled, hit or attacked.
- having your bag and other possessions taken and thrown about.
- having rumours spread about you.
- being forced to hand over money or possessions.
- getting attacked because of your religion, race, or sexuality.
- being deliberately excluded by others from activities, or having friendships ruined.
Do something
Ignoring the problem simply doesn’t work. It's hard to deal with bullying by yourself, so the best way to fight back is to tell someone you know and trust. This could be:
- your parent/guardian.
- your teacher or school chaplain.
- someone at your place of worship.
- your youth worker.
- a friend.
Write down what is happening and who is involved. If you are at school, your parent/guardian should speak to your class teacher. Your teacher should then speak with the head teacher.
If it’s happening at your work tell your team leader or line manager. If it’s a smaller workplace, speak to your boss.
It's not your fault
Remember it's not your fault that you are being bullied. Bullies themselves often have their own hang-ups, which they are taking out on you (perhaps they were once victims of bullying). That’s no excuse for their behaviour though.
Help others
Here are somethings that you can do to help prevent bullying from happening, you could:
- speak to your teachers about your school's anti-bullying policy.
- promote an anti-bullying week.
- put up posters for ChildLine so that people know who to call if they need help.
- You could speak to your teachers about making sure that there are supervised playground areas.
If you know of someone else being bullied don't keep quiet, help them. Remember that even if the bullying happens outside school hours or away from the school, if it includes school pupils it is up to the school to deal with it. It's worth checking out the useful links listed below.
Social