Types of Bullying

Verbal Bullying is when someone says something about you that is intended to hurt. It can leave the person being bullied feeling angry, frightened, and powerless. Verbal attacks can be of a highly personal and sexual nature. They can be directed. Rumors are often started which are an indirect form of bullying.

Physical Bullying is often dismissed as “horseplay” or “pretend” or “just a game” when challenged by someone but physical bullying is not a game. It might include shoving, tripping, punching, pulling hair or even sexual assault.

Exclusion Bullying is particularly hurtful because it can make you feel alone. Sometimes people in the popular group at school will bully others by gossiping about them, taunting or teasing. It can be really hard for the person being bullied to do anything about this because it directly attacks a person’s self-confidence and can make you feel really bad about yourself.

Extortion Bullying can include demands for money, possessions, lunch money or food. This can often be accompanied by threats.

Cyberbullying is a new strain of bullying which has emerged where people use the internet, mobile phones or other technological devices to hurt someone else. It can be a really upsetting way to intimidate or attack another person. This can happen when someone posts insults about a person on a website or when someone sends upsetting text messages on a mobile. It also includes putting up pictures on a message board, pretending to be someone else in a chat room or on a web page.