Bullying
Information
Here you’ll find answers to some common questions concerning bullying.
Select the underlined questions below to see more.
What is bullying?
Are there different types of bullying?
Why do people bully others?
Is bullying ever ok?
What is bullying?
Bullying is where a person or group behave in a way that is intended to hurt someone else, either physically or emotionally.
Bullying is sometimes a one-off act, but often it can be part of a repeated set of behaviours that happen over time, meaning that its effects mount up and add to the feelings of fear, depression and despair.
Are there different types of bullying?
There are many different types of bullying, including:
- physical assault
- teasing
- making threats
- name-calling
- excluding behaviours
and many of these can happen online as well as in person.
Why do people bully others?
Bullying is often targeted at certain groups, for example because of their gender, sexuality, race or religion but it’s not really about that at all. Put simply, bullying is about one group or individual trying to make themselves feel powerful over someone else.
Is bullying ever ok?
Bullying is never ok and all schools, colleges and training providers should work hard to help make it stop once they know it is going on. They will usually have a policy about bullying that explains what they will do to stop it.
If you're being bullied
The most important thing to remember if you find yourself being bullied is that it is not your fault, so you shouldn’t blame yourself or let yourself believe what the bully says about you.
If you start to feel like you are being targeted, here are some ideas that may help you cope:
Finding help
Who can I talk to?
- Friends
- Family
- Someone you trust at school
- Youth worker
- Health professional (GP; Counsellor Nurse)
- Charities and Helplines
Select the underlined topics below to view what resources are available.
Useful documents
Helpful websites
Useful documents
Helpful websites
Getting more help
If you haven’t already found the help you’re looking for, you can find additional information and services which are more interactive here.
Select the underlined topics below to view what resources are available.
Help lines
Local services
Help lines
Local services
Bullies often target people 
Keep a record of what’s happening. If it is online you could save or copy any messages, posts, photos or videos. If the bullying is happening “in person” make notes to remember who was involved, what happened and when it happened.
Think about how you respond to bullying. Some bullies are hoping to see their targets get angry