The Anti-Bullying Alliance and its members have a shared definition of bullying based on research from across the world over the last 30 years.
ABA defines bullying as:
the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power. It can happen face to face or online
There are four key elements to this definition:
- hurtful
- repetition
- power imbalance
- intentional
In this short video you will hear about what we mean by a 'power imbalance'
Bullying behaviour can be:
- Physical – pushing, poking, kicking, hitting, biting, pinching etc.
- Verbal - name calling, sarcasm, spreading rumours, threats, teasing, belittling.
- Emotional – isolating others, tormenting, hiding books, threatening gestures, ridicule, humiliation, intimidating, excluding, manipulation and coercion.
- Sexual – unwanted physical contact, inappropriate touching, abusive comments, homophobic abuse, exposure to inappropriate films etc.
- Online /cyber – posting on social media, sharing photos, sending nasty text messages, social exclusion
- Indirect - Can include the exploitation of individuals.