"Bullying behaviour abuses an imbalance of power to repeatedly and intentionally cause emotional or physical harm to another person or group of people. Isolated instances of hurtful behaviour, teasing or arguments between individuals would not be seen as bullying" (Torfaen definition 2008)
Bullying generally takes one of four forms:
- Indirect - being unfriendly, spreading rumours, excluding, tormenting (e.g. hiding bags or books);
- Physical - pushing, kicking, hitting, punching, slapping or any form of violence;
- Verbal - name-calling, teasing, threats, sarcasm;
- Cyber - all areas of internet misuse, such as nasty and/or threatening emails, misuse of blogs, gaming websites, internet chat rooms and instant messaging; Mobile threats by text messaging & calls; Misuse of associated technology, i.e. camera and video facilities.
Although not an exhaustive list, common examples of bullying include:
- Racial bullying;
- Homophobic bullying;
- Bullying based on disability, ability, gender, appearance or circumstance.