You have a right to feel safe and be safe. Being bullied can make you feel miserable and powerless but things can change.
There are things you can do, and doing something will help you feel like you are taking your power back.
Tell a teacher, parent or other adult or a friend who can help you. Remember, the sooner you report the bullying and take action, the sooner things can change.
You can also visit the Kids Helpline For Teens & Young Adults section or call them on 1800 55 1800. It is a free call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
This factsheet goes through:
Bullying affects each person in different ways. Common feelings include:
But, you’re not alone and it’s not okay. Watch I’ve been bullied (video) to see how other people who were bullied felt and how they changed things.
It’s awful to feel this way, but it is not hopeless and there are things you can do. You don’t have to feel like this.
Read stories about how other young people have been through tough situations.
A real life story of a guy who was bullied at school on the ReachOut site.
Your school has a responsibility to ensure you have a safe learning environment free from violence, harassment and bullying. Your principal, teachers and school staff need to know about bullying so they can deal with it quickly.
Read What to do if you are being bullied (PDF, 180KB)(RTF, 55KB) for bullying in person, or Cybersafety for students (PDF, 63KB)(RTF, 66KB) for bullying online.
Telling someone shares the problem. It helps you feel supported.
It’s not dobbing or weak to tell someone. Bullying is not ok, ever!
It is really important to tell someone, particularly if the bullying has been going on for a while or the strategies you’ve tried haven’t worked.
These strategies should only be tried if you are not in any immediate danger of being physically hurt and you feel confident you can do them.
Bullying can happen anywhere. It can even happen in your family. If family members or others do things that hurt you, scare you, or make you feel bad about yourself, then this isn’t okay.
Talk to a family member who can help you—tell them the ‘who, what, when and where’ of what has been happening. If you prefer, talk to your teacher or another staff member privately. Talk to a friend to get help to report it.
If you can’t talk to someone face-to-face, Kids Helpline have online chat and email or you can phone on 1800 55 1800. It’s a free call.
If you feel unsafe you can call the police.
Bullying online can happen to anyone, anytime, and can leave you feeling unsafe and alone. Online bullying can be offensive and upsetting and you don’t have to put up with it!
Tell an adult about the online bullying. This could be a parent or carer, relative, adult friend or teacher.
Your school may have policies in place to deal with bullying whether it happens in person or online if others students are involved.
If you’re not comfortable to talk to someone face to face, Kids Helpline have online chat and email or you can phone on 1800 55 1800. It is a free call.
You can protect yourself online or on your phone with a few simple strategies.
For advice about reporting and direct links to social network and online gaming websites reporting pages, go to the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner website Social media services’ safety centres.
Look for a Report abuse button if you are on social networking sites.
If you feel physically threatened, call the police in your state or territory.
Block, delete or report anyone who is harassing you online. Go to the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner Cyberbullying complaints to make a report.
For more information about online safety issues and what you need to know to protect yourself, go to the Office of the Children’s eSafety Commissioner website.
For help, use the privacy features on your phone. Call your mobile company’s customer care number:
“3”: 133320
AAPT: 138886
Optus: 1300 300 937
Orange: 133488
Telstra: 125 111
Virgin: 1300 555 100
Vodaphone: 1300 650 410
For more tips about avoiding bullying via mobile phones visit the Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association website.
Your boss has a responsibility to provide a safe work environment where there is no violence, harassment or bullying.
Keep a diary of any bullying or harassing behaviours. Documenting everything that happens, including what you’ve done to try to stop it. This is useful if you make a complaint.
See if your work place has a bullying and harassment policy and a complaints procedure.
If you feel safe and confident, you can approach the person who is bullying or harassing you and tell them that their behaviour is unwanted and not acceptable.
If appropriate, tell them you will make a complaint. If you don’t feel you can do this, that’s okay.
The best person to talk to might be your supervisor/manager, a harassment contact officer, or a health and safety representative (if your work has one).
Otherwise, talk to your parents or another adult. If you don’t have someone you can talk to face to face, there are support services which are available to help and support you. Get help and more information.
If the bullying is having a serious impact on you, and the situation has not changed after reporting it to your manager (or someone else in charge), or if there isn’t anyone you can safely talk to at work then you can get outside information and advice. You can get help from:
Complain to the state and territory workplace health and safety authority or to the Australian Human Rights Commission about the sorts of discrimination, harassment and bullying that is covered by anti-discrimination law. You can contact them by email atcomplaintsinfo@humanrights.gov.au or on the phone 1300 656 419 (local call) or (02) 9284 9888.
This factsheet is made is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY NC) license.
Also check the related topics:
BullyingSpeaking to someone about your problems can be the first steps to a solution.
