Bullying can happen to anyone. If you are being bullied, whether it’s online, at school, at work or in any other environment, you are not alone! It can feel very difficult to reach out when you feel alone or isolated. Young Bristol have collected information about bullying and resources you can use for advice in light of anti bullying week 2022.
What is bullying?
Bullying is unwanted and potentially aggressive behaviour. This can stem from an imbalance of power and is always a repeated incident over a period of time. Bullying can take place in many forms, however, it is always deliberate and directed. Some specific examples of bullying include:
- Sexism – bullying focused on someone being of the opposite sex.
- Racism – bullying focused on someone being of a certain race or skin colour.
- Cyber bullying – targeting an individual online. Can be anonymous but can be from someone you know.
- Homophobic – bullying focused on someone being a certain sexual orientation.
- Religious – bullying focused on someone’s beliefs or faiths
Getting help for bullying.
Ignoring bullying will never make it go away. As hard as it may be, bullying needs to be reported to a trusted adult. No one deserves to be bullied
If you are being bullied at school, your school should have an anti bullying policy in place. Report the issue to a trusted teacher, or a friend who can report this for you. You can also speak to a school nurse, councellor, welfare officer or any one else at your school you may trust. You can also tell your parents and carers, they can report this to the school for you.
If you are being bullied online, you can report abuse and bullying on any social media channel. They should all have an abuse and anti bullying policy in place. Make sure to keep reporting the bullying until it has stopped. Reporting it one time sometimes may not be enough. Tell a parent, carer or close relative, there are here to help you.
If you are being bullied outside of school/work, talk to your parents, carers and close relatives. Our youth clubs are also a safe space for all young people. You can report any bullying to one of our trained staff and they can help this to be reported or resolved.
Where to get advice
We’ve discussed reporting any bullying issues, but where can you get extra advice on bullying? If you ever need to talk to someone about bullying, some of our partners are here to talk. We have collected information from partners both locally and nationally who can help you.
National advice
NSPCC – This is a national chairty that offer help to young people experiencing abuse, mental health and bullying. There services are on offer from Monday to Friday, 10:00am – 4:00pm.
National bullying helpline – This help line was designed specifically to target bullying and offers a helpline to anyone who needs to talk about any bullying issues that occur, no matter what environment the bullying is taking place. They are available from Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 5:00pm.
Young Minds – your mental health may be effected as a result of bullying. Young Minds are a national charity offer support to young people and parents for their mental health and bullying. Their text line is open 24 hours of the day, 7 days a week and the parent helpline is open Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 4:00pm.
Childline – A national help service which offers support surrounding bullying, abuse, your safety and the law. Childline also offer 1-2-1 counsellor talks to young people. They are availiable 24 hours, 7 days a week.
Mind – Mental health being affected during after being bullied may be at its lowest. Mind is another charity who target helping people with their mental health. Their InfoLine is open from Monday to Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm.
Bristol based advice
Off the record – The Bristol based charity offer a mental health support team. They also offer hibs that you can attend and talk to someone about any issues you would like to talk about.
Bristol Mind – The local Bristol charity offer a wide range of support, counselling and training. They have a helpline that is currently open from Wednesday to Sunday, 7:00pm – 11:00pm.
SARI – The charity is more tailored towards racism and inequality. On their webiste, you can report hate crimes and can provide support to any victims of hate crime.
Unique Voice – This Bristol based company run anti-bullying workshops for schools across Bristol. The workshops they run are eye-opening and can help towards the prevention of bullying. We recommend their programmes to all schools across Bristol.
