Bullying can take place anywhere; in schools, in the wider community and in the online community
“He looked really fed up and was quieter than usual. He felt sick on a Monday morning which I think was anxiety. I knew something wasn’t quite right.”
The Anti-Bullying Alliance, which is a network of organisations working together to reduce bullying, defines bullying as:
“People doing nasty or unkind things to you on purpose, more than once, which it is difficult to stop.”
The Department for Children, Schools and Families Safe to Learn guidance defines bullying as:
‘Behaviour by an individual or group usually repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another individual or group either physically or emotionally.’
Bullying can take various forms. Usually we think of it as:
- Verbal: name calling, insults, teasing.
- Physical: pushing, shoving, hitting, kicking, damaging property and belongings.
It can also be much less obvious, for example:
- Indirect bullying: spreading nasty stories, exclusion from friendship groups, spreading rumours.
- Cyberbullying: bullying by using mobile phones or the internet (email, chat forums, etc) for example, by forwarding videos, or sending nasty texts.
There are a lot of reasons why bullying happens. At the heart of a lot of bullying incidents is the fact that the child is seen as being ‘different’ in some ways to the majority group. Some of the common reasons are:
- Because they wear different clothes, look different because of the colour of their hair or skin, speak or behave differently.
- Because they have a learning or physical disability which can make children more vulnerable to bullying incidents.
- Because of their race, cultural heritage or beliefs.
- Because they may be or are thought to be gay or lesbian.
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