BULLYING STOPS HERE!
What is Bullying?
A hurtful act done by people with more power, such as older students, physically taller or stronger, has a higher social status, or is a member of an individualist group.
Bullying is a repeated aggressive behavior where an individual or a group of people in a position of power deliberately intimidates or abuses an individual with the intention to hurt that person physically or emotionally.
You are being bullied if:
- You are being hurt, harmed, or humiliated with words or actions.
- Someone’s behavior towards you is repeated or you fear that it will be repeated.
- Behavior towards you, is being done intentionally.
Different Forms of Bullying
- Face-to-face whispered comment
- Passed notes
- Hurtful things written on bathroom walls
- A humiliation in front of a group
- Small talk, gossip
Bullying can take place in the classroom or the hallway, on the bus or in the changing room, during lunch break, or after school.
Cyberbullying
When technology is used to bully someone, it is called cyberbullying.
Cyberbullying can be verbal, sexual, or emotional. Specific examples of cyberbullying include sending malicious text messages, mocking someone’s messages, sharing videos, stories, or photos that mock or humiliate someone, “troll” someone to harass that person, posting personal information about others on the Internet, and spreading rumors or gossip
Different Types of Bullying
Physical
This form of bullying is often easy to see and therefore easy to recognize. Think of those stereotypical movie scenes where someone knocks someone else’s book out of their hand or shoves them into a locker. Depending on the nature and severity of the exposure, anyone who bullies physically often faces consequences such as detention, suspension, or expulsion. Examples of physical bullying include pushing, shoving, hitting, kicking, biting, hair pulling, inappropriate touching, breaking objects, and taking or damaging other people’s property.
Verbal
Using words, loudly or in writing, is a common pattern of bullying because it is quick, often done impulsively, to elicit a response (and getting a response is often the goal of the bullying behavior). Verbal bullying is also easier to do without attracting adult attention, making it harder to detect and enforce. Examples include teasing, name calling, threats, intimidation, demeaning jokes, rumors, gossip, and slander, all of which can happen in person or online.
Sexual
Not everyone considers unwanted sexual touching or comments (in person or online) as bullying. It’s also often difficult to say because it can be very personal and confusing, especially if it’s coming from someone you’ve been in a relationship with or think you can trust. This may include using words that detract from a person’s gender or sexuality, spreading rumors of a sexual nature that damage a person’s reputation, unwanted physical contact or touching. and inappropriate, sharing of personal information about relationships or post inappropriate photos online.
Emotional
Emotional bullying can be very subtle and difficult to detect. It is calculated and manipulative. It can be maintained by one person but is usually done by a group. Emotional bullying can be very harmful and traumatic. It targets a person’s self-esteem, causes them to question themselves, and often leads to low or no self-esteem. Emotional bullying, whether done in person or online, can include excluding someone from a group or intentionally excluding them from activities, threatening to hurt or hurt someone, telling lies to damage another’s reputation, and publicly humiliating someone.
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE AFFECTED/ INVOLVED:
The Target
The person who is being harmed or hurt.
It’s vital to identify that bullying can happen to ANYONE. Bullying behaviour can be directed at an introverted or shy, quiet student, or the class tough guy. It has been shown that students who are perceived to be different in some way—whether it’s how they look in height or weight or the clothes they wear; it might also be because of their disability, race, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, religion, immigration status, or gender—are at an increased risk of being bullied.
The Bully
The Person whose actions causes hurt or harm.
While there are stereotypes about those that bully—scary tough guys with short tempers and intimidating qualities—it’s not appearance that defines who bullies; it’s behavior. Bullying is an action, not a personality trait. Girls bully, boys bully, preschool kids bully, and high school kids bully—there is no single characteristic or personality trait that indicates who bullies others. Students who bully can be any size, age, grade, or gender.
The Bystander
The Person/s who sees or knows of the action towards the person who is being harmed.
Almost all kids see bullying happen at
some point. They may not be getting bullied nor the ones doing the bullying, but witnesses are important because their reactions can have a direct impact on the bullying situation. When a group is watching a fight, there might be some who see what’s happening and then walk away; others who continue watching, but say nothing; and then there might be those who cheer on the violence. Each response can affect the outcomes of a bullying situation.
Can
someone
play more than one role?
Often being bullied, doing the bullying, or witnessing being bullied are not separate categories! Children play multiple roles during the day more than often. Someone being bullied on the bus in the morning could be the one who was teasing a small child that afternoon. The child who laughed while watching a fight yesterday might ask the newcomer to sit with him for lunch today. The individual who is the target of a malicious social media rumor may gossip about an old friend at lunch the next day. When considering who is involved in bullying, it’s important not to rigorously label individuals. Calling someone a bully doesn’t take into account all they may be going through. Because bullying is a behavioral problem, roles can be complex and complicated; there are usually no well-defined villains or heroes. But it also means that we all have the ability to modify this behavior and prevent bullying.
The Stages of Bullying
Bullying Starts
Bullying Starts
Online
Directly
Indirectly
Indentifying Targets
Indentifying Targets
Senstive
Socially
withdrawn
Low
self-esteem
Fueling The Fire
Fueling The Fire
Attention
Power
No peer
disapproval
Effects of Bullying
Effects of Bullying
Anxiety,
Difficulty
Concentrating,
Depression
Coping Mechanism
Coping Mechanism
Seeking help,
Missing school/practise,
Avoidance
STOP THE BULLYING
What to do if you are being bullied?
You got to tell someone!
Speak to a friend, parent, brother or sister, uncle or aunt and, if it happens at school, speak to your teacher.
1. Try to stay in safe areas of the school at break and lunchtime where there are plenty of other people.
2. If you walk home from school, try to use different routes if possible.
3. If a person calls you on your cell phone or sends you threatening messages then tell your parents immediately. If it continues then you can charge that person for harassment.
4. If you see someone being bullied at school then tell a teacher. Do it quietly so that the bullies won’t make you their next target.
Awareness through the different intermittently involved categories
Teachers:
- A child who was bullied at another school; moves to a new school to escape being bullied.
- A child who has been bullied; can become a bully. They identify the power it brings and starts to do the same to others- POWER OF IDENTIFICATION.
- Identifying bullies through the stages (refer to above)
- Group identification; both constructive and destructive.
Parents:
- The best and worst source to gauge version control – before and after – What my child is vs
what my child has become or becoming; however sometimes this is not always seen. - How does my child treat his/her siblings?
- Sensitization through identifying a possible and not creating a hypersensitive situation.
– If a child is bullied then the home is a place of refuge – exposing the problem at home can sometimes create an unsafe/uncomfortable environment for the child.
– Wrong advice in general.
– Siblings could help by giving wrong advice.
– Differential advise from parents.
Children:
- Difference between playfulness and being bullied
- Accepting being bullied if trying to be accepted into a group
- Standing up in a group and accepting the consequences
- Pressured into the “norm of social” media i.e what dance should I do for tik-tok
- Typical gang hierarchy being used
– Commander
– Soldiers/Enforcers
– Targets/Captors – being forced to do things they wouldn’t normally do.
