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Six Things You Can Do If You Are Being Bullied

Jodie RichterJanuary 16, 2018
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There has been a number of stories in the media recently after the tragic death of Katherine girl Amy ‘Dolly’ Everett who took her own life.

The #stopbullyingnow #doitfordolly #justbekind and #speakevenifyourvoiceshakes hashtags have gone viral since her father, Tick Everett’s Facebook post.

One in four young people have experienced a mental health issue in the past 12 months – a higher prevalence than all other age groups.

Alarmingly, suicide is the leading cause of death of young people, accounting for one third of all deaths. headspace is a national youth mental health foundation providing early intervention mental health services to 12-25 year olds, along with assistance in promoting young peoples’ wellbeing.

Bullying hurts. If you find yourself the victim of bullying it’s important to know you are not alone and it’s not your fault.

Ipswich’s headspace community engagement coordinator Janet Reddacliff has put together 6 things you can do if you are being bullied.

1. BE ASSERTIVE Stand up for yourself in a positive way. If you look confident when you respond you will show you mean what you are saying, e.g. “I don’t think the comments you are making are funny”.
2. USE HUMOUR This can be very effective in teasing and verbal bullying situations, but may not be appropriate for every situation. Try to think up funny or clever replies in advance. Replies don’t have to be brilliant or clever but it helps to have an answer ready. Using prepared replies works best if the person who is bullying is not too threatening and just needs to be ‘put off’.
3. AVOID THE SITUATION Try to avoid being alone in the places where you know the person bullying is likely to pick on you. This might mean changing your route to school, avoiding parts of the school grounds, or only using common rooms when other people are there. It’s not fair that you have to do this, but it might discourage the student from bullying. If the bullying is via text messaging, then it might be as simple as getting a new SIM card and only giving your number to friends and family whom you trust.
4. IGNORE THE BULLYING Students who bully want to get a reaction, they think it’s ‘fun’. If you can keep calm and hide your emotions, they might get bored and leave you alone. As one teenager said, ‘they can’t bully you if you don’t care.’ Walk away and use positive self-talk to help boost your confidence, e.g. ‘I don’t deserve to be treated like this. I am not the one with the problem.’ Remember, it is hard for the bullying to go on when the person being bullied won’t stand still to listen.
5. ASK FOR HELP When other strategies you have tried are not working or if you feel you can’t deal with the situation yourself, you should ask for help. Asking for help is not dobbing. It is always okay to ask for help.
6. TELL A FRIEND WHAT IS HAPPENING Ask them to help you. It will be harder for the students to bully you if you have friends who give you support.

Number of Deaths by suicide in Queensland, 2016

  References: Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017) Causes of Death, Australia 2016.

Average number of deaths by suicide in Australia each day, 2016 (preliminary data)

Using the ‘Years of Potential Life Lost’ measure of premature mortality, that suicide was estimated to account for in 2016

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Jodie RichterJanuary 16, 2018
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