Be bullied no more
Friday 14 July 2006
Regular readers of n2k will know that we've given lots of coverage over to bullying, whether it's happening to you, to a mate or you're the one doing the bullying.
New campaign
Our Beat Bullying campaign was a massive success and now a new campaign has got the backing of stars like pop princesses Girls Aloud, Charlie from Fightstar, athlete Kelly Holmes, Shayne Ward and Patrick Stewart from The X Men. The new promotion hopes to stamp out bullying and make more people aware of a problem that can make some young people's lives a misery.
Here we take a look at what you can do if bullying is affecting your life in some way.
If you're being bullied
You should remember that it's not your fault that somebody has singled you out. Nobody deserves to be bullied and you don't have to put up with it.
People who bully may pick on just about anything about a person: their hair, their clothes, the way they speak or how they do at school. We're all different and that's what makes us all great in our own way.
You shouldn't be ashamed of just being yourself; it's not you who has the problem, it's the person bullying you.
You should tell someone you trust what is happening as soon as you can. Sharing your problems with someone else can help. The person you tell might have some good ideas on how you can tackle the problem Don't suffer in silence: speak up and get it sorted.
If you're bullying somebody
Try and think about how you're making that person feel. What do you think it's like going through life knowing that someone is out to get you whenever you see them, no matter what. How would you feel if someone you cared about was being bullied? You'd feel awful and want it to stop, right?
Maybe there's a reason that you're acting this way. Perhaps things aren't going well at home or there have been some changes in your life that you're finding it hard to deal with. Are you being bullied by someone too?
You need to talk to someone about what's going on. Not only will stopping the bullying make life a whole lot easier for the person you're picking on, it can make things better for you, too.
If someone you know is being bullied
It may be that one of your mates is on the receiving end of some pretty nasty behaviour. What's your reaction? While you shouldn't wade in there and fight their battles, you can help your friend out by getting them to talk about what's happening.
Some victims of bullying don't like admitting there's a problem in case it makes them look soft. Tell them that the bullying's not their fault and that you're there for them if they need to talk about it.
You might also want to encourage your friend to speak up about it and tell a parent or teacher. You could be doing more than just helping your mate; chances are the person doing the bullying has got problems of their own that need working out.
By bringing it out into the open, you're doing everybody a favour.
Get help
You can get more information on bullying and how to stop it on need2know's very own Beat Bullying site.
