Bullying Prevention  |  What is Bullying?

Call the 24 hour Bullying Prevention Helpline at 1-888-456-2323 (toll-free in Alberta) for advice and strategies on bullying prevention and building healthy relationships

What is Bullying?

Bullying is a repeated and hostile or demeaning behaviour intended to cause harm, fear or distress, including psychological harm or harm to a person's reputation.  It often involves an imbalance of social or physical power. 

Bullying Behaviours

Bullying behaviours are a form of aggression and can be:

• Physical – For example: poking, elbowing, hitting

• Verbal – For example: name calling, insults, racist, sexist or homophobic comments, put- downs or threats

• Social – For example: gossiping, spreading rumours, excluding someone from the group, isolating, ganging up

• Cyber – For example: social or verbal bullying through the use of email, text messages or social media.

Identifying Bullying Behaviour

Below are some warning signs to help identify if a person may be engaging in bullying behaviour:

• Not understanding or caring if someone is hurt

• Unexplained increase of money, clothing or other items

• Boasting about taunting someone

• Passing off teasing as a joke

• Laughing when others get hurt

• Demonstrating aggressive behaviour

• Grouping together with some individuals and intentionally leaving others out (e.g., isolating, shunning)

• Name-calling

Bullying is the misuse of power intended to harm or humiliate someone else. People of all ages may engage in bullying behaviours.

What Bullying is Not

Bullying behaviour is not the same as hurting someone's feelings if there is no misuse of power or a deliberate intent to cause harm. It is important to support individuals to understand the difference between these behaviours as part of learning how to build healthy relationships.

Bullying behaviour is sometimes confused with conflict. Conflict is a disagreement about different beliefs, ideas, feelings or actions. It is a normal part of healthy relationships. For example, friends may disagree over which movie to see or what game to play. Learning skills to resolve conflict appropriately is very important for building and maintaining positive relationships.