Have you ever been bullied / been a bully?

This year, Anti-Bullying week is the 13-17 November, and the official theme is 'All Equal. All Different.'

For a lot of young people, there's a huge amount of pressure to fit in, rather than stand out. Unfortunately, a lot of bullying with young people usually comes back to that core idea - because you're different. As adults we know our uniqueness is beautiful, but it's hard to understand that when you're in the thick of 'growing up'.

This sentiment is also echoed in an article on Times Higher Ed, reporting that students avoid ‘different’ classmates for group discussions. According to the report, by the University of Washington, students will almost always choose to work with classmates of the same sex and ethnicity when they are asked to pair up.

So for Anti-Bullying Week, TSR will be running a campaign which looks at this pressure young people face, and try to empower them to embrace the ‘real them’.

Have you felt pressure to ‘fit in’ to avoid bullying?

Have you ever been bullied? Or maybe you were a bully yourself?

Do you find yourself more drawn to those who are similar to you, or does difference not bother you?

If you’d like to get involved in this campaign and share your experience of bullying to raise awareness, you can inbox me with your story. (will be kept anonymous!)

Alternatively, take part in our short anonymous survey and you could win an Amazon voucher. 😊

Reply 1

username3608406

5

I've really shy and anxious so I was/am easy pickings for these bullies since I'm not likely to fight back. I don't really have any friends now but in year 11 I hung around with some people I though were my friends but looking back I kinda guess they weren't seen as they were causing me physical and emotional pain.

Reply 2

qasim-96

15

Got bullied for pretty much my whole childhood. Didn’t really tell anyone about it and sort of just learnt to live with it as though it was a part of my everyday life.

Reply 3

1secondsofvamps

22

Anti-bullying week doesn't do anything. Sure it raises awareness that bullying happens but it doesn't actually stop people from bullying others.

Racial bullying is one of the worst things I have experienced, throughout the whole 5 years of high school no one ever did anything to try to stop it.

Reply 4

It's****ingWOODY

20

Nah. People gave me s*** and I got into fights, but I wasn't bullied because I didn't let the people who started on me get away with it without me fighting back.

Reply 5

Kindred

20

Nothing terribly significant, but lets just say I wasn't one of the popular kids. I guess I was an easy choice for if anybody wanted to do something stupid and I wasn't really included in anything. I wouldn't say I was ever really bullied though.
In fact, I'd say the worst I've had is actually by adults. I had one parent helper on a youth group trip (like 10 days in another country) being rude to me about freckles and also making racist comments.
Neither my brother or I had a great time at junior school. I had a teacher giving me almost daily "time outs" for no good reason and my brother had a teacher mock his speech.

I can almost understand kids bulling kids cos frankly they aren't fully socialised, even as teenagers, and may not understand the full implications. It's a bad thing and I don't think it's okay to be doing it, but I can see that it can come from ignorance rather than malice.
I absolutely cannot understand how an adult could bully a child though. It's disgusting and they should know better.
My brother and I have both been treated wrongly by adults in a position of authority over us and that is what angers me. They should have known better and they acted completely inappropriately. It's pathetic and they should be ashamed.

Reply 6

Muudeey

15

Never. My best friend got bullied once so I decided to give the bullies a taste of their own medicine( 5 against 1, I somehow won). Not gonna lie if I see someone get bullied I stand up for them.

Reply 7

uberteknik

21

My brother reckoned I bullied him by giving him a detention on his first day in yr7 - the same day I became a prefect.

He thought I was joking and didn't turn up, which then attracted an interview with the deputy head. :colone:

Reply 8

(づ￣ ³￣)づ

16

Original post by uberteknik

My brother reckoned I bullied him by giving him a detention on his first day in yr7 - the same day I became a prefect.

He thought I was joking and didn't turn up, which then attracted an interview with the deputy head. :colone:

What did you issue it for, or was that not something you needed to add?

Reply 9

username3112590

17

Yes, everyone and I don't really care :biggrin:

Reply 10

uberteknik

21

Original post by (づ￣ ³￣)づ

What did you issue it for, or was that not something you needed to add?

lol. For not wearing full regulation uniform ! (His jacket was too big !)

The head teacher called me in to the office one day and said she admired my diligence, but that 25 detentions handed out in a week was a bit excessive.

So I bought a diary and when handing out further detentions, used the phrase, 'I can't fit you in this week, how about a week next Tuesday for an hour?'

Reply 11

username3049746

19

Original post by Kevin Hodge

Got bullied for pretty much my whole childhood. Didn’t really tell anyone about it and sort of just learnt to live with it as though it was a part of my everyday life.

Same. I was bullied during middle school and I just try to forget about it.

Reply 12

ass sniff 69

7

A guy took a potato wedgie from my lunch plate without asking.
I KNOCKED HIM THE FOOK OUT.
What's the moral of the story? Don't touch mans munch

Reply 13

JDieMstr

21

Been on both sides of the coin. Now, I can 1000% say that bullying is the most stupidest and ugliest form of harming others mentally and physically, which can have grave effects on a victim for life.

Reply 14

qasim-96

15

Original post by CuriousGuy777

Same. I was bullied during middle school and I just try to forget about it.

I try and forget about it too. Just gotta move on from it.

Reply 15

(づ￣ ³￣)づ

16

Original post by uberteknik

lol. For not wearing full regulation uniform ! (His jacket was too big !)

The head teacher called me in to the office one day and said she admired my diligence, but that 25 detentions handed out in a week was a bit excessive.

So I bought a diary and when handing out further detentions, used the phrase, 'I can't fit you in this week, how about a week next Tuesday for an hour?'

Amazing.

Reply 16

username3515308

14

Yup, by teachers and students (verbally not physically). Gave me anxiety problems to this day.

Reply 17

Popsiclez

21

Original post by It's****ingWOODY

Nah. People gave me s*** and I got into fights, but I wasn't bullied because I didn't let the people who started on me get away with it without me fighting back.