Bullying – information for young people

It's not just about physical abuse – kicking, hitting and pushing.

Bullying includes verbal and emotional abuse too, such name calling, teasing, making threats or offensive comments, gossiping, being ignored or left out of groups, and spreading hurtful and untruthful rumours.

Bullying can be done through a third party, or via text messages, emails and chat-rooms.

Bullying can be defined as deliberate hurtful behaviour, repeated over a period of time, where it is difficult for the victim to defend him or herself.

How can I stop it?

If you are being bullied, or have a friend that is being bullied, then you should talk to someone. Bullying doesn’t go away on its own.

There are a number of things you can do:

• tell someone you can trust – a friend, a teacher, someone in your family
• keep a diary of what happens – this will help you when you talk to someone    about what has happened
• walk away from the bully and try not to show that you are upset
• listen and talk to your friends – support them if they are being bullied.
  

Remember, no one deserves to be bullied. It is not your fault and you are not alone.

Where can I get help and advice?

If you are being bullied you can get support, advice and information on how to deal with bullying from a number of organisations. These include:

Childline
Has a free 24-hour helpline for you to talk to a trained counsellor and also a website that gives loads of helpful advice and which you can access by clicking on the link from this page. Whatever you tell them is completely confidential.
Tel: 0800 1111

Beatbullying
An interactive website created by young people for young people, giving advice on how to beat bullying, free screen savers and games.

Bullying.co.uk
Gives you advice on how to recognise when someone is being bullied and tells you the best ways to stop the bullying.

A printable version of this information can be found here Bullying info for young people.pdf