Bullying at school

The law protects you from physical violence, harassment, threats and intimidation. Schools should be safe and pleasant places for all students and for teachers too. You do not have to put up with physical or verbal abuse. It is OK to complain.

What is bullying?

Bullying is treating a person in an offensive, intimidating or frightening way. It can be physical or verbal. Examples of bullying include:

• hitting, punching, pushing or kicking
• unwanted touching or kissing
• name calling, swearing, teasing, making harassing phone calls and spreading rumours
• writing hurtful graffiti, passing notes or sending e-mail or text messages with rumours or insults
• using threats
• making threatening or obscene gestures
• stealing, moving or hiding belongings
• deliberately excluding from a group or activity
• assaulting or threatening to assault with any kind of weapon.

How common is bullying?

Bullying at schools is not uncommon. Research has shown that one in six Australian students are bullied every week. Usually, boys are bullied by one person, and girls by groups. There is not much difference between the number of boys and girls who suffer from bullying. The size of the school, or whether the school is single-sex or coeducational or government or non-government makes no difference to the amount of bullying going on.

What should I do if I’m being bullied?

There are a few things you should do first. Tell a friend about the things that are happening to you. You don’t have to go through it alone. You’ll find that talking about the problem will help a lot. Also, tell an adult. This adult could be your mum, dad, teacher, counsellor – someone you trust and feel comfortable with.

If you’re in immediate danger of being hurt, you should go to a secure place like a shop, a safety house, a police station, or even a medical centre.

The important thing to realise here is that if you don’t do anything about your situation, you’re probably doing yourself more bad than good. Bullying can cause you damage, physically, mentally and emotionally.

Some numbers you can call for help are:

• Kids Help Line: 1800 55 1800 (24 hours)
• Youthline: 13 11 14 (24 hours)

What can schools do about bullying?

Schools have a legal and moral duty to provide students with a safe environment in which to learn and play in. Schools should do the following:

• admit that bullying is a problem by bringing the subject of bullying out into the open
• introduce a plan for both dealing with the bully as well as helping the student being bullied
• maintain and review anti-bullying policies each year
• make sure that there are plenty of teachers supervising in the playground and that they intervene when bullying happens
• encourage ‘peer support’ groups or a ‘buddy system’ in which younger students get to know older students
• make sure that anyone who has a physical injury is given first aid and then referred to a doctor
• inform the police if there is a serious attack, for example, if someone has been threatened or injured badly or feels extremely intimidated.

If your school doesn’t do anything about bullying, or doesn’t take the things happening to you seriously, then you should complain to the Department of Education and Training, or seek legal advice.

Lawtoon: Lawtoon: Ben and the Bus Bully

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