What is Bullying?
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The Ontario Ministry of Education defines Bullying as " an aggressive behaviour that is typically repeated over time. It is meant to cause harm, fear, distress or create a negative environment for another person. Bullying can happen when there is a real or perceived power imbalance. An “imbalance” could mean one student is older or in a higher-grade level than another student."
Types of bullying
Bullying can take many forms. It can be:
- physical, for example hitting, shoving, damaging or stealing property
- verbal, for example name calling, mocking, making sexist, racist or homophobic comments
- social, for example spreading gossip, rumours or excluding others from a group
- written, for example writing notes and signs that are hurtful or insulting
- electronic or cyberbullying, for example spreading rumours or hurtful comments using email, text messages and social media
Regardless of its form, bullying is unacceptable.
Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying
- is used to upset, threaten or embarrass another person
- uses email, cell phones, text messages and social media to threaten, harass, embarrass, socially exclude or damage reputations and friendships
- includes put downs, insults and can also involve spreading rumours, sharing private information, photos or videos or threatening to harm someone.