Bullying

On this page we'll look at the following. Simply click on the links below to be taken straight to the section.

 

 

Bullying

Many people say that bullying is the worst thing that can ever happen to anyone. Bullying can happen to anyone, anywhere.

It is usually repeated behaviour that is intended to hurt or harm someone emotionally or physically. It can be aimed at certain individuals because of their race, religion, sexual orientation, gender or anything else that makes them stand out from the crowd.

 

 

BULLYING HAS MANY FORMS
Physical	Verbal	Indirect
This consists of:	This consists of:	This consists of:
Hitting Kicking Pushing or pulling someone around Destroying personal items or messing with them Items being stolen e.g. money etc.	Name calling Threatening Teasing Destroying personal items or messing with them Intimidation	Someone being ignored or left out of activities Rumours being spread Manipulation Telling lies about someone Gossiping about someone

 

Indirect bullying is found to be the worst for some as many people don't realise that it is actually bullying.

Bullying can also be seen in other forms, like: abuse, (including neglect and sexual abuse) and emotional bullying.

 

 

A quote from Liam Payne from One Direction:

“I was a victim of bullying back in school. My advice is to always tell someone straight away and ask for help. Keeping it to yourself will only be more damaging in the long run.”

 

What can you do about Bullying?

1. Tell someone
2. Don't keep it inside
3. Ignore it or walk away from it and act like it is not affecting you
4. Take notes on what happens, like a diary
5. Ask them to stop it (they may not realise that it is hurting you.)
6. Keep copies of emails or texts.
7. Stay safe on the internet
8. Find out how your school deals with bullying and tell them about it
9. BUT REMEMBER, IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT!

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Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is when someone uses the internet or a mobile to purposely upset someone else. This is a form of bullying and you shouldn’t have to put up with it.

What is the difference?

This type of bullying can affect someone not just at school, but at home as too. This is because it takes place in the online environment, so it can be used at any time. Sometimes it can be difficult to find out who the cyberbully is because they could block their number or use another name. This type of bullying can have a large audience, but most won't know that it is actually bullying.

A good thing about this kind of bullying is that it can be used as evidence. Normal bullying can be the bullies’ word against yours, but with cyberbullying you can save the messages or web pages and print them out. This can be used as evidence to find out who the bully is and stop them bullying other people too.

What should you do?

1. Save all the messages or web pages. If you have upsetting emails or nasty things put on your profile save them to your phone or computer so you can use it as evidence.

2. Learn how to block the bully. (We suggest you keep the contacts and find a way to block them as by keeping the contacts you will know who it is if they do it again).

Remember

3. Don't reply to things that are said; it could make the situation worse. If you ignore them they will get bored and give up. If they get a reaction from you, they have won. Don't give them what they want, we know this is hard but most people find it works.

4. If you are being bothered via your mobile phone, you should contact your phone provider. Each company has a special area for problems like this.

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Your Rights

All Young People and Children have rights. These rights are part of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, also known as the UNCRC.

What are they?

You have rights to:

• A childhood
• An education
• To be treated equally and fairly
• To be healthy
• and to be listened to

These rights are here to give all young people protection and a voice and apply to EVERY child and young person. Bullying can breach some of these rights and it can take them away from you.

Just so you know, the following tend to be affected:

1. You have a right to be safe – you have a responsibility to make sure that you don't do something that could make someone unsafe.
2. You have the right to think what you want, so long as it does not stop anyone from doing the same.
3. You have the right to relax and take part in holidays and other leisure activities – you are responsible for making sure you don't stop anyone else from doing this.
4. Adults are responsible for making sure that these rights are available to you at home, school and in your surrounding community.

The Law

Just because bullying is not a criminal offence in the UK, laws can be used for things like harassment or threatening behaviour, cyberbullying can include – threatening as well. Some of the acts are mentioned below:

• Protection from Harassment Act 1997, which has both criminal and civil provision
• Malicious Communications Act 1988
• Section 43 of the Telecommunications Act 1984
• Communications Act 2003
• Public Order Act 1986

If you're being bullied because of where you come from, your skin colour or your religion; this is racism. Depending on what they say it could being a criminal offence under other laws.

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USEFUL CONTACTS

If you are being bullied, some people have found that volunteering has helped them to cope with it. If you would like to get involved in volunteering you can contact East Riding Voluntary Action Services (ERVAS) Ltd’s Volunteen project on volunteen@ervas.org.uk or visit their website www.ervas.org.uk.

If you need more information on the UNCRC then you can visit: www.unicef.org.uk or you can visit www.sccyp.org.uk. A summary of these rights can be found here: www.crae.org.uk.

You can also find out more about your rights on the Children's Commissioner website: www.rights4me.org.