Bullying - why do people do it?

More about bullying

Your thoughts

Here's how some Student Life message board users felt about bullying:

• "Who wants to be the same as everyone else? That would just be boring. I'd rather be an outcast than fit in with what they call in these days."
• "Most of the time, bullies are people who don't have friends, who are bored and have nothing to do, so they just go around bullying people."
• "Bullies judge people for what they are, not who they are. People should be judged for what and how they do things not what they look like!"

What is bullying?

Bullying doesn't just mean physically hurting someone, or even verbally abusing them. It can mean manipulating people or harrassing them, and generally refers to any kind of behaviour that intentionally harms others, usually through fear or threat. You can be bullied in many ways, including in person or online, and even teachers can be bullies sometimes.

ChildLine has defined bullying as:

• being called names
• being teased
• being pushed or pulled about
• having money and other possessions taken or messed about with
• having rumours spread about you
• being ignored and left out
• being hit, kicked or physically hurt in any way
• being threatened or intimidated

The facts

According to the National Bullying Survey 2006,

• 69% of school students have been bullied
• An amazing 85% of students have seen someone else being bullied
• 56% of abusive remarks referred to weight and appearance, while more than 50% of bullied pupils said they were physically hurt and 34% of those needed to see a doctor/hospital
• Most bullying happens in the playground (30%), followed by the classroom (25%), school corridors (21%), lunch queue (14%) and toilets (7%)

Why are people bullies?

People can become bullies for lots of reasons. Sometimes it's because they are prejudiced against their victims, or it can be because they themselves have experienced bullying.

What to do if you're being bullied

The first thing to do is keep a written record of everything that, so that you can take it to a parent or teacher as evidence that these aren't just one-off incidents. Don't feel ashamed or embarrassed to speak out - making it clear who's bullying you can shame them into stopping.

If you're being bullied at school, check out your school's anti-bullying policy to find out who to go to and what your school will do to help you.