Are you a Bully?

What is Bullying?
Bullying may be defined as the activity of repeated,
unwanted, aggressive behaviour intended to hurt another
person, physically, mentally or emotionally. Bullying is
characterized by an individual or a group behaving in a
certain way to gain power over another person.

Did you know?

Is it considered bullying?
In order to be considered bullying, the behaviour must be aggressive and
include:
An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their powersuch as
physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularityto
control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in
different situations, even if they involve the same people.
Repetition: Bullying behaviours happen more than once or have the
potential to happen more than once.
Bullying includes actions such as making threats, spreading rumours,
attacking someone physically or verbally, and excluding someone from a
group on purpose.

Types of bullying
The Department of Education and Early Childhood Developments
Building Respectful and Safe Schools (2010) identifies four types of
bullying:
Physical bullying includes hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching and
pushing or damaging property.
Verbal bullying includes name calling, insults, teasing,
intimidation, homophobic or racist remarks, or verbal abuse.

 Covert bullying is often harder to recognise and can be carried out

behind the bullied persons back. It is designed to harm someones
social reputation and/or cause humiliation.
Covert bullying includes:
lying and spreading rumours
negative facial or physical gestures, menacing or contemptuous looks
playing nasty jokes to embarrass and humiliate
mimicking unkindly
encouraging others to socially exclude someone
damaging someones social reputation or social acceptance

 Cyberbullying is overt or covert bullying

behaviours using digital technologies.
Examples include harassment via a mobile
phone, setting up a defamatory personal
website or deliberately excluding someone
from social networking spaces.
Cyberbullying can happen at any time. It
can be in public or in private, and
sometimes only known to the target and the
person bullying.

Effects of Bullying
Bullying has a negative impact on everyone involved; the target,
the bully and the bystanders.
Students who are bullied are more likely to:
Feel disconnected from school and not like school
Have lower academic outcomes, including lower attendance
and completion rates

Lack quality friendships at school

 Display high levels of emotion that indicate vulnerability and

low levels of resilience

Be less well accepted by peers, avoid conflict and be socially

withdrawn
Have low self-esteem
Have depression, anxiety, feelings of loneliness and isolation
Have nightmares

 Feel wary or suspicious of others

Self harm
Have an increased risk of depression and substance abuse

In some cases, even suicide.

Amanda Todd was a 15 year old girl who was bullied and eventually got tired
and decided to end her life.