Bullying is never okay. It can be difficult to understand what it is unless you’ve experienced or witnessed it. Here are some helpful definitions:

Bullying

Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. Power does not always mean being in a position of authority but can include both personal strength and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation.

Bullying can take the form of physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct. Non-verbal conduct includes postings on social media outlets. Bullying may include, by way of example:
  • shouting at, being sarcastic towards, ridiculing or demeaning others
  • physical or psychological threats
  • overbearing and intimidating levels of supervision
  • inappropriate and/or derogatory remarks about someone's performance
  • abuse of authority or power by those in positions of seniority
  • deliberately excluding someone from meetings or communications without good reason
Find out what support is available if it happened to you or if it happened to someone you know.
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