Bullying

Have you experienced bullying？ You’re not alone. Read this article to understand more about bullying and find out what you can do to stop it.

Why do we need to take action against bullying？

Sadly， bullying is really common. In a study of young people in the UK aged 12–20， half of them said they had been bullied. People who are bullied are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety. They might lose interest in the activities they enjoy， avoid spending time with other people and not go to classes or school， which has a negative effect on their learning.

What is bullying？

Bullying is not just physical， like hitting someone， or taking their things without permission. Bullying can also be with words — saying or writing things that are not nice. Another type of bullying is social — choosing not to include someone， embarrassing someone or telling other people not to be friends with them. Bullying can happen anywhere. Bullying involves an imbalance of power — one person （or a group of people） that is more powerful than another. Maybe this person is more popular， or maybe they are physically bigger and stronger. It’s important for everyone to work together against bullying.

How to help

Does your school do anything to prevent bullying？ Why don’t you create a student anti-bullying group？ This group can work with the school to fight bullying.

Bullying is a social problem and it needs a solution from society. The next time you see someone being cruel to someone else， don’t ignore what’s happening. Tell an adult as soon as possible and help everyone to realise that bullying is not OK.

Activity — True or false

Are the sentences true or false？

1. Bullying doesn’t happen very often in the UK.

2. Bullying can affect people’s progress at school.

3. There are two main types of bullying.

4. There are many things young people can do to prevent bullying.

5. Young people need to stop bullying on their own.

6. If you see bullying， the best thing to do is talk to your friends

for help.

Write about it！

Do you know someone that’s been bullied？ Think about what can be done to prevent bullying.

Write your ideas below.

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Answers

Activity

1. False; 2. True; 3. False; 4. True; 5. False; 6. False