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What is bullying?
‘Behaviour by an individual or group,
usually repeated over time, that intentionally hurts another
individual or group either physically or
emotionally’.
Department for
Children, Schools and Families (2007), Safe to
Learn
‘The repetitive, intentional hurting of
one person by another, where the relationship involves an imbalance
of power. Bullying can be carried out physically, verbally
emotionally or through cyberspace.’
Anti-Bullying
Alliance
The definition of bullying must be understood
and shared by all – both within your local authority and the
community you serve. Children need to understand what
bullying is and how it is different from a ‘fall out’ between
friends which is common in childhood. We would always
recommend that local authorities produce a child-friendly
definition of bullying to facilitate this understanding.
There are three widely acknowledged means of
bullying:
- direct physical
bullying (pushing, hitting, punching, kicking)
- direct verbal
bullying (yelling abuse at another, name-calling,
insulting someone, using verbal threats)
- indirect bullying,
also known as social bullying or relational bullying (spreading
rumours, social exclusion, disclosing another’s secrets to a third
party).
Recent advances in technology have also
resulted in new means of bullying, widely known as ‘Cyberbullying’;
these involve covert, or indirect bullying using electronic media,
such as mobile phones and the internet. For further
information on Cyberbullying, please refer to Cyberbullying, Safe
to Learn, DCSF, 2007.