Anti-Bully WA
What is bullying?
Bullying is when a person or a group of people take advantage of the power they have to hurt, intimidate or reject another person/s. There’s more than one way someone can be bullied. These can be:
•Verbal: including name calling or put downs, threats, teasing and sexual harassment – even if it is done in an indirect or suggestive way. This can also take place online or through mobile phone text messages.
•Physical: including being punched, tripped, kicked or having your belongings stolen or damaged. It might also include sexual abuse.
•Social: including being left out or ignored, or having rumours spread about you. This type of bullying is very common.
•Psychological: this is often less obvious or direct than other forms of bullying. You might be given dirty looks, be stalked or made to feel intimidated.
•Cyber-bullying: this is a form of bullying which takes place online, for example via email, chat rooms, discussion groups, online social networking, instant messaging or web pages. This can also take place via mobile phone text messages.
Bullying isn’t a one-off incident. It isn’t bullying when a friend is in a bad mood one day, calls you names and then apologises later. It’s when name-calling or threats continue that it becomes bullying.
Definition
Why is bullying harmful?
Some people see bullying as a part of growing up and a way for children to learn to stick up for themselves. But bullying can leave children feeling lonely, unhappy, frightened, unsafe and thinking that there must be something wrong with them. It can cause tummy aches, nightmares, reluctance school and loss of confidence. They may become isolated from their friends.
Many people don’t realise just how serious an impact bullying can have on someone. It can change how they feel about themselves and often make them feel alone and unable to do anything to change the situation. Ongoing bullying is of great concern. It can lower a person’s self-esteem and lead to feelings of sadness, depression, anger and confusion.
Why do some children bully?
There are many reasons why children bully. They may see it as a way of being popular, showing off, or making themselves look tough. Some children bully to get attention, and some just like making other people feel afraid of them. Others might be jealous of the person they are bullying, or might be being bullied themselves. They may not even realise that what they are doing is wrong and how it makes their victims feel. In many cases bullies aren’t as tough as they’re made out to be.
Why are some children bullied?
Some young people are bullied for no particular reason, but usually it's because they are different in some way - perhaps it's the colour of their skin, the way they talk, their size or their name. Sometimes young people are bullied because they look like they won't stand up for themselves.