What is Bullying?

What forms does bullying take?

1. Physical — pushing, shoving, kicking
Bullying can be physical, verbal, environmental, or social. Physical violence includes pushing, punching, kicking or any kind of physical contact. If the violence is particularly harmful it may be a Criminal Code offence. Contact your school resource officer for more information.

2. Verbal — mocking, taunting, prank calls
Verbal bullying can have an equally harmful impact to physical violence. Using words, such as mocking a student, is a powerful method of harming another person.

3. School Environment — safety, security
The school environment may be a problem if bullying is an issue that it is impacting the school at many different levels; in the classroom, between students, between teachers, or by parents. If there is a lack of policies, programs, concrete actions or solutions bullying may create a poisoned school environment.

4. Social Alienation — gossiping, exclusion, rejection
Social alienation excludes a person from the social scene of the class or the school. This form of bullying can result in youth feeling left out, rejected and skipping school.

5. Online / Internet Bullying
Online / Internet Bullying is where the internet, facebook, Instagram, texting, and other online programs are used to bully a youth. See getsybersafe.gc.ca for more information.

What other forms of bullying are there?

1. Intimidation
Threats to reveal personal information, taking a person’s possessions without asking, or playing dirty tricks.

2. Racial/Ethnic
Slurs using racial/ethnic references to harm or intimidate another person.

3. Disability
Slurs against a person based on their abilities; physical, verbal, social attacks on a person because of their disability.

4. Homophobic/Transphobic
Slurs against a person because of their lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) status. This includes threats to ‘out’ a person because they are LGBT. It also includes physical, verbal, social attacks on a person because they are LGBT or because they are presumed to be LGBT. Sometimes a youth is targeted not because he/she is LGBT, but because other students make an assumption based on how they look, dress or act. Not only students who are LGBT, but all students, are at risk of this kind of bullying.

5. Sexual Harassment
Unwelcome, uninvited sexual attention. Sexual harassment may involve remarks, gestures or actions that are sexual in nature. For instance, unwanted physical contact, unwelcome remarks, verbal abuse, display of suggestive pictures, leering, whistling, jokes, demands for sexual favours, names written on walls or desks and stalking. If the behaviour becomes serious and physical it may be a criminal offence.

OR ANY FORM OF BULLYING THAT REPEATEDLY USES AGRESSION WITH THE INTENTION OF HARMING ANOTHER.