Bullying : How to help someone if you know they are being bullied
What is bullying?
Bullying usually involves one or more people teasing, being violent towards, or harassing somebody on an ongoing basis. The bullying fact sheet gives more information about what bullying is.
Is someone you know experiencing bullying?
Bullying may be difficult to see as it may happen when the person is alone. People experiencing bullying may be scared to tell anyone or feel ashamed about being bullied so they may try to hide what is going on. Some indications that someone is being bullied are:
- lack of motivation
- vagueness (especially around certain topics)
- unusual behaviour
- seeing the person be hassled
- physical injuries.
Take care that you don't immediately assume that the problem is bullying. These signs may be visible for a whole range of reasons, not only because they are experiencing bullying. Someone may show these signs because of the person they are, or they may be dealing with other issues in their life.
How to help someone who is being bullied
Talk to them - It is a good idea to talk to the person you think is being bullied to find out what is going on with them and offer to help them with the situation. Try to remember that the person you are talking with may be very sensitive about the situation and may be scared.
Let them know you care - Help them feel good about themselves. If a person is being bullied their confidence may be low and they may feel lonely. It helps to let them know that you are a friend and care about them. It can often help to point out all the great things they have to offer to help them to feel good about themselves.
Include the person into your group - Making a special effort to include the person into your group may help increase the person's confidence.
Stick up for them - If you see someone is being bullied it may be helpful to stick up for them. Take care to ensure that in trying to help the person being bullied that you don't make the situation worse or put yourself in danger.
Speak to someone - Letting someone else know about the situation may help you to solve the problem. A teacher, counsellor, or another adult could be helpful people to talk to. It may also be helpful to involve the person experiencing the bullying in this process. Together you can go and talk to someone about the situation.
More information
Check out the other Reach Out fact sheets on the left hand side of the page for more information.
Other things on Reach Out to check out are Reach Out Central (ROC), an interactive online space, and the Rotreat forums Info Bus sessions, where you can talk about stuff and find helpful hints for dealing with a range of issues.
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1 Comment
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Claira
6 months ago
Reply ReportI think that as good as it is to think that people will pitch in and help others it doesn't always happen. At my school no-one really cares about other people, most students come to school because they have to be here until they are 17. The teachers try to help but more often than not they make things worse, if the bully gets in trouble, the bullying gets worse. Homophobics and racists riddle the school and students don't want anything to do with helping their fellow peers. People need to read things like this, maybe the world would be a better place.