Bullying can happen in lots of different ways, including:
- verbally – name calling, threatening, whispering behind your back, spreading rumours
- physically – pushing, hitting, kicking (assault)
- being ignored or left out
- having your things stolen (theft) or damaged (criminal damage)
- getting unkind or threatening texts or emails
- being made to do something you don’t want to do.
Bullying can also include antisocial behaviour, or hate crime – when you are targeted by bullies for who you are, for example because of your race, religion, gender identity, disability or sexualilty.
Cyber bullying – the name used to describe what happens if you are bullied online, through social networks, chat forums, emails or instant messaging – is also becoming a bigger problem.
Sometimes bullying is so serious that you may want to think about telling the police. For example, if you’re injured, something of value has been stolen or if you’ve been seriously threatened.