Bullying is defined as an “ongoing misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical or social behaviour that causes physical or psychological harm”.
Types of Bullying:
Bullying can happen:
The proportion of children who have been bullied or experienced bullying-like behaviours varies depending on the source. This is due to variations in the definition of bullying, and/or the nature and scope of questions asked. The Australian Institute of Health & Welfare provides a wealth of statistical analysis from various studies on bullying.
This study follows the development of 10,000 young people and was conducted in partnership between the Department of Social Services, Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) and the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Many children who bully have also been the victim of bullying themselves. Data from the LSAC showed that about 46% of children aged 12–13 who experienced bullying-like behaviours in the 12 months before the survey had also used these behaviours against another child in the same period, compared with 7.4% of children who did not experience any of these behaviours. Overall, there was a large amount of overlap between children who experience bullying-like behaviours and those who use these behaviours against others, confirming that bullying creates more bullies. The solution is not to bully the bullies, yet at the same time, not to allow bullying behaviour to continue.