What is bullying, abuse and racism?

Bullying is when someone is picked on by a person or group. Bullying can happen in many different ways. All of these ways can have a huge impact on somebody's life. Bullies might make fun of others for many things, including:

• how someone looks

• how someone acts

• race, religion, nationality or skin colour

• how popular someone is

• sexual identity (like being gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual or asexual)

• being transgender or non-binary

Racism is when someone treats another person differently because of the colour of their skin, the language they speak, or their religion. Some people wear different types of clothing because of their religion and may get bullied because of this. It is a crime to be racist to someone in the UK.

People are different and it's important to treat everyone with respect.

There are different types of bullying:

• Physical bullying could include shoving, tripping, punching, or hitting

• Verbal bullying could be using words to insult or tease someone

• Psychological bullying could include gossiping about people or leaving out people to make them feel bad about themselves

• Cyberbullying is when bullies use the internet and social media to say things that they might not say in person. This can include sending mean texts, posting insults or making nasty comments on social media. Cyberbullies also might post personal information, pictures, or videos made to hurt or embarrass someone else.

If you are being bullied you might:

• feel afraid, stressed, low in mood/depressed or nervous

• have trouble with your schoolwork

• have problems with your mood, energy levels, sleep, and appetite

• have thoughts about hurting yourself or suicide.

• Bullying and racism are difficult to deal with. So it's important you tell somebody if this is happening to you. Tell someone you trust so they can try to help. This might be your parent or carer, a teacher, or other person, such as a public health nurse.

• Try not to fight back against bullying, as this could get you into trouble.

• Keep a record of events of bullying e.g who was present, where it was, and what happened. If you’re being cyberbullied, take screenshots and save messages.

• If the behaviour is serious consider telling the police. Some bullying/abusive behaviour is a criminal offence. Find out more about this: What is hate crime? | Derbyshire Constabulary

• Block bullies on your phone or social media.

• Don't share your online details with people you don't know or trust and keep your online privacy settings high.

• Try and keep a wide variety of friends. For instance, joining a club can help you make new friends.

• Do things that make you happy like your hobbies and look after your yourself.

Here are some more useful websites to support you and your family and friends: