Bullying outside of school

If the bullying is happening on your way to or from school there are things you can do to stop this:

- Plan a different route to school which avoids the areas it happens
- Keep to well lit and busy areas to avoid being alone at any time
- Take a safety alarm with you – they are not expensive and create a loud noise which can attract help and put bullies off
- Walk with friends, or older brothers and sisters if possible
- If you are being bullied on a bus, sit downstairs rather than on the top deck and tell the driver about what is happening.  If it’s a school bus then you can talk to your teacher – they are responsible for you while on a school bus and can make the bullying stop
- Keep a diary of what is happening with dates and times. For more advice about bullying generally visit the bullying information page.

If the people bullying you go to the same school as you, it is a good idea to let the school know what is happening, no matter where or when it is they are bullying you.  They may not be able to take action about incidents that happen in the evenings or at weekends, but they can make sure it doesn’t happen in school. If the kids are being violent towards you, you need to talk to your parents or carers about involving the police, who can help you.

If you don’t feel that you can talk to your parents or carers, you can call ChildLine on 0800 1111. You don’t have to put up with this on your own. 

If you are being bullied at home by one of your siblings, you should try to talk to your parents or carers about what is happening.  They need to know what is going on so they can help make it stop.  If you don’t feel like you can talk to a parent or carer, you can talk to ChildLine.

If you are being bullied by your parents you could try talking to someone who is close to you.  Do you have another family member such as aunt or uncle that you could speak to?  If you don’t have another family member to talk to,  you could speak to your teacher and tell them what is happening to you. 

If you don’t feel that you have anyone you can talk to, you can always call ChildLine on 0800 1111. You don’t have to put up with this on your own. 

There are lots of ways to meet and contact people online  - social networking sits such as Facebook, Bebo, MySpace and Twitter.  It is easier than ever for people to use these to bully people.  Cyber bullying can be very damaging and cause unhappiness, worry and stress.  To find out more about cyber bullying and what you can do about it visit our cyber bullying page.

Mobile phones can also be used to bully people.  This might be texts from people you know, or someone using another number to send texts or make calls that are abusive and nasty.

Always be careful about who you give your mobile number to, and don’t put it on any of your social networking profiles like Facebook or Bebo.  If you put it online, anyone can get hold of it. Read more advice about how to keep safe when using your mobile phone.

‘Sexting’ is when someone sends or is sent sexually explicit pictures or videos on their mobile phone. You might be encouraged to take pictures of yourself naked or film yourself doing things that you may not be happy about and send them to people. There may also be pressure on you to look at explicit messages that people have been sent, and to encourage other people to get involved.

It’s important to only do what you feel comfortable with. Remember that once you have sent a picture or video to someone else or put it up online, you have no control about where it will go and who will see it.  Before sending anything, take a moment to think how you would feel if it ended up on YouTube or on Facebook.  If you wouldn’t want anyone else to see it, don’t send it.

If you are worried about anything to do with sexting or being bullied anywhere, you can talk to ChildLine on 0800 1111.