How To Deal With It

No one deserves to be bullied. If you’re being bullied, here are a few steps you can take:

Don’t blame yourself: it’s not your fault!
Try to stay calm: if you can look in control and confident, don’t be afraid to look the bully right in the eye.
Get away from the situation: try to walk away as soon as possible.
Ignore the bully online: Block the bully/bullies from your instant messaging program and/or email and or profile on social networking sites. Consider changing your email address and/or passwords.
Tell someone you trust: a parent, teacher, friend, counselor, youth worker, etc. If you feel nervous about telling, ask a friend to go with you. Don’t stop telling until someone listens to you and helps.
Write it down: keep a record of what happened, when, where, how often, who was involved, and what’s been done about it. If you’ve been harassed on the computer, save a copy or print it out.
Talk about it: talk to friends, see a counselor at school or therapist, chat or talk to a youthinbc.com volunteer, join a support group in your community or online to share your story and hear how other people have dealt with similar situations.

If you witness bullying:

Tell the bully to stop: don’t put yourself in danger, but if you can speak up and help someone, do it!
Don’t join in: laughing at the person being bullied or joining the bully in what they are doing is just helping it to happen. Don’t be part of the problem, be part of the solution!
Do something: Standing there can often give the bully an audience… This gives the bully the attention he/she is probably striving for and also increases the victim’s humiliation. Walk away and get help!
Tell someone: tell an adult, or help the victim do this. Offer to be a witness to what happened.
Befriend the victim: don’t listen to gossip or rumours; include the person in activities like eating lunch with them or walking him/her home.

If you are a bully:

Take responsibility: apologize to those you’ve bullied, try to stay out of places or peer groups where you might feel tempted to bully someone. Walk a kilometer in someone else’s shoes – what would it feel like if you were the one being bullied!
Tell someone: find someone you can trust and who will listen to you. Bullying is a big problem, not just for the victim, but also for the bully. There may be many reasons you’ve chosen to bully someone, and changing your behaviour can be hard… ask for support while you’re trying to change.