What is Bullying?

Bullying is anything done Several Times On Purpose to make someone feel hurt upset or frightened. If you are being bullied you might feel very frightened and alone. You might also need some help to make the bullying stop.

Wolverhampton Anti-Bullying Project is a local freephone helpline number. If there isn't anyone who can speak right away, leave them a message and someone will call you back: 0800 616798

Childline is a free helpline for children and young adults all over the UK. You can call them free at anytime of the day or night on 0800 1111

Bullying Can Include:

• Being teased
• Being pushed, hit, kicked or physically hurt in any way
• Having money or other things taken, damaged or messed about with
• Having rumours spread about you
• Being ignored or left out in a nasty way
• Receiving threatening or upsetting, e-mails or texts
• Having horrible stuff posted on MySpace, Facebook etc

Bullies come up with reasons to pick on people. These are not reasons at all, just bad excuses and are nearly always to do with making out someone is different. Some of the things bullies pick on and use to justify bullying are:

• Not fitting into what they think boys or girls should do or be like
• Your Race
• A disability
• Knowing or thinking you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or trans
• Your religion

But What Can I Do About It?

What to do if you are being bullied

• Tell a friend what is happening
• Try to ignore the bullying or say 'No' really firmly, then turn and walk away
• Don't fight back if you can help it
• It's not worth getting hurt to keep possessions or money
• Try to think up funny or clever replies in advance
• Try to avoid being alone in the places where you know the bully is likely to pick on you
• Sometimes asking the bully to repeat what they said can put them off
• Keep a diary of what is happening
• Remember! No-one deserves to be bullied. It's not your fault!