What to do if you are being bullied

What you should do if you are being bullied

Our 'Say no to bullying leaflet' has been created by young people for you. It explains how to get help if you are being bullied. Download our Say no to bullying leaflet.

Remember it's the bullies who have a problem, not the people they target. You really are not on your own. Unfortunately bullying is common. People get through it, and so will you. But it must stop.

It may get worse before it gets better, but you need to take action to help yourself. You should:

• Try to avoid retaliating with violence or verbal abuse as this may make the situation worse.
• Speak out. You have the right to live without being tormented.
• Keep a diary of what happens. It'll help you decide what to do. It should also stop you missing out anything important and help show you're telling the truth.

Cyber bullying, texts and phones calls

If you are being bullied through texts or phone calls, save messages and call records if you have space in your phone. If not, write down the time of the call/text, what was said/written and the caller/sender's number if you have it. And don't reply to any texts - it's just what the bully wants.

If you're being bullied online, don't respond to nasty comments. But as before, keep a record of everything you get sent by screenshotting or saving the messages.

Who you should tell

As many people as you can. Sometimes just having things out in the open can be enough to make bullies stop. If it's at school, any of your teachers should be able to help. Your school should have an anti-bullying policy. 

If you can't tell your teachers, ask a parent or another adult to speak to them for you. 

There are also a range of local services and support that you can access.