Friday, October 16, 2009

Bullying

From Wikipedia

Bullying is repeated acts over time that involves a real or perceived imbalance of power with the more powerful child or group attacking those who are less powerful. (U.S. Dept. of Justice, Fact Sheet #FS-200127)

Bullying can be verbal harassment, physical assault, or other more subtle methods of coercion such as manipulation. Bullying can be defined in many different ways.

Although the UK currently has no legal definition of bullying, some US states have laws against it. Bullying is usually done to coerce others by fear or threat. Bullying can be prevented when children are taught social skills to successfully interact with people. This will help them to be productive adults when interacting with bothersome people. Bullying in school and the workplace is also referred to as peer abuse.

In colloquial speech, bullying often describes a form of harassment perpetrated by an abuser who possesses more physical and/or social power and dominance than the victim. The victim of bullying is sometimes referred to as a target. The harassment can be verbal, physical and/or emotional.

Sometimes bullies will pick on people bigger or smaller than their size. Bullies hurt people verbally and physically.