I've seen someone being bullied - what can I do?
When someone you know is being bullied it can be upsetting. If you see or know of others being bullied, you may feel angry, fearful, guilty and sad. You may also feel worried that the bullying could happen to you.
You can take action to stop bullying happening. When other people help, the bullying is more likely to stop.
It is important to stay safe though, so only step into help if you feel safe to do so.
Here are some things you can try.
- Show you don’t agree. Frown or shake your head at a mean comment or joke – don’t encourage the bullying by laughing or joining in.
- Interrupt the bullying by talking to the person being bullied. Something like, ‘Hey! There you are, want to come hang out with me?’
- Speak up. If you feel safe to do so, say in a calm way, ‘That’s not okay’ or ‘We don’t do that here.’
- Help them leave. Give the person being bullied an excuse to leave, by saying something like, ‘The teacher is looking for you!’
- Offer support. Let the person who was bullied know you saw what happened and check if they’re ok.
- Report it. Talk to a trusted adult about what you saw. If the person being bullied agrees, report it together.
If it doesn’t feel safe to try any of these, that’s ok. If you’ve seen someone get bullied and are upset and not sure what to do, you can tell a teacher or trusted adult what happened, and they can help and not disclose that it was you who reported it.
Get help
You don’t have to deal with bullying alone. There is support available to you.
