Bullying
If somebody physically hurts you, or verbally abuses you, that’s bullying.
What is bullying
It can include being bullied because:
- Of your sexual orientation (homophobic bullying)
- Of your skin colour (racist bullying)
- Of your beliefs or faith (religious bullying)
- Of your body size (sizeist bullying)
- You are the opposite sex (sexist bullying)
- You are simply different.
Bullying can be a one-off or it can go on for a long time. It can happen to anyone; in fact, it affects over one million young people every year.
Bullying can take many forms:
- Physical
- Teasing
- Making threats
- Being forced to do things you don’t want to do
- Left out of activities or ignored by others
- Name calling
- Cyberbullying – via mobile phone or online.
How bullying can affect you
Bullying in any form is hurtful and unacceptable and it can make your life miserable. It can make you feel many things:
- Isolated
- Worthless
- Lonely
- Anxious
- Angry and
- Lacking confidence.
You might experience some or all of these feelings.
Some people who are being bullied can develop:
- Depression,
- Anxiety
- Eating problems
- Self-harming behaviours or
- Turn to drugs and alcohol .
If you are experiencing problems like these because of bullying, you need to tell someone what is happening. You can talk to your GP, your parents or carers, your teacher, a youth worker or another adult who you feel you can trust.
If you feel you can’t talk to an adult about it, maybe a friend could do it for you.
Ignoring bullying won’t make it go away.
Bullying is not your fault; don’t put up with it because things can get better!
If the bullying is happening online you can also report abusive posts on Facebook and other social media platforms. You can also report abuse to CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre).