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I am being bullied

What is bullying?

Bullying is where the kids who bully use their power, this could be physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or even a large group of people in order to control or harm another child. Bullying is repeated/has the potential to be repeated, over time. Both kids who are bullied and who bully others may have serious, lasting problems.  There are different types of bullying.

There are 4 types of bullying:

  • Physical bullying is where a person does something to purposely harm you or your belongings
  • Verbal bullying is where a person says some really hurtful things to you
  • Social bullying often involves a person not allowing someone to join something or denying you from being a part of a particular group
  • Cyberbullying often involves someone spreading mean words, lies, and even false rumours online or simply using technology to simply annoy a person.

Physical Bullying

Physical bullying is when one person or a group of people picks on another individual, this is done face to face. Some examples of this consists of hitting, pushing or stealing/destroying a person's items such as books, clothing or lunch money. It can range from a slight action every so often (the aim of this is to demean the person over a short period of time) to a chain of violent and direct actions to hurt the person on purpose quickly.
Possible signs of Physical Bullying
• Coming home with bruises, cuts (unexplained injuries)
• Skipping particular classes
• Saying they feel picked on
• Talking about either violent actions towards other or talking about suicide
• Separating themselves from a group
For more possible signs please visit the Bullying Statistics website [External Link].

Verbal Bullying

It is not uncommon for people to experience some form of verbal bullying (being called names or insulted) at some point in their lives.  Many young people we speak to hear insults on a daily basis when they are in school or socially.  It can be confusing for someone to try and work out whether the name calling is banter or bullying. A young person going through something like this might feel intimidated or feel under pressure not to make a fuss because others are saying it is just a joke. If it is a one off incident then it may be that it is banter. However, if the name calling becomes persistent and regular, then this is bullying. It is equally about how you feel too, if it makes you uncomfortable and you have told them to stop but they are still name calling, then this is what we call verbal bullying. The verbal bullying can be anything about weight, appearance, racist, sexual or homophobic bullying.  

Social Bullying

Social bullying also known as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. An example of this form of bullying is telling another child not to be friends with someone. Social bullying also includes spreading rumours about another person, leaving someone out of an activity/group on purpose or embarrassing a person in public.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is when a person or a group of people bully a different individual using technology, this could be using the Internet such as Social Media, mobile phones or even through a games console. Their intention is to either make someone upset, feel threatened, make fun of someone or embarrass someone. People can also get death threats by bullies online also. Often cyberbullying is not a single message. With social media sites and messaging apps anything that is posted about you can be seen by lots of people, these posts can start trending/going viral very quickly. If a person posts things that is not true and does this with the intention of causing someone harm this can be classed as harassment.

Where can you find help?

If you have done everything you can to try to resolve the situation and nothing has worked there are ways to get help, such as:

Talking to a trusted friend about what is going on can help release some of the stress you may have. They may have had the same problem and can understand what you are going through. Talking to any adult that you feel comfortable talking to such as:

• Parent
• Teacher
• Community leader
• School nurse

You can call 999 if there has been a crime or someone is at immediate risk of harm.

Family Lives has a free confidential helpline that allows you to contact them if you need guidance, advice or support with family life (including bullying). Their helpline service is open 9am – 9pm, Monday to Friday and 10am – 3pm Saturday and Sunday. Their number is 0808 800 2222 and for more information visit their website [External Link]. They also have a Skype service where you can call them (this is free and confidential). You need to create a Skype account, once your account has been created open the Skype dialler and call 0808 800 2222 and then press the green call button. This will connect you to their helpline.

Kidscape is committed to keeping children safe from abuse.  Kidscape is the first charity in the UK established just to prevent bullying and child sexual abuse.  You can find more information and advice on how to find help on the Kidscape website [external link]

If you don't want to file a report about someone being cyberbullied you could always talk to someone in confidence (ChildLine) as it is available 24 hours a day. You can call them free on 0800 1111 and this number won’t appear on a telephone bill. You can also contact ChildLine through emails, all you need to do is to sign up to Childline. This process is very easy and you don't need to give your email address or your real name, so this is very confidential. You can talk to a '1-2-1'counsellor chat and this is once again private, so nobody else can view the chat but ChildLine.

You can call 999 if there has been a crime or someone is at immediate risk of harm.


Cyberbullying can create a disruptive environment at school. The school can use the information of cyberbullying to help inform prevention and response strategies to it.

There is a website that is a command of the UK's NCA (National Crime Agency) named CEOP (Child Exploitation and Online Protection) this is where you can report the potential online abuse and talk to one of CEOP's experienced Child Protection Advisors. This website can be found at www.ceop.police.uk [External Link].