What is bullying?

Bullying is a form of aggression where there is a power imbalance; the person doing the bullying has power over the person being victimized. In additional to any physical trauma incurred, bullying can result in serious emotional problems, including anxiety, low self-esteem, or depression.

Types of bullying

  • Physical bullying: using physical force or aggression against another person (e.g., hitting)

  • Verbal bullying: using words to verbally attack someone (e.g., name-calling)

  • Social/relational bullying: trying to hurt someone through excluding them, spreading rumours or ignoring them (e.g., gossiping)

  • Cyberbullying: using electronic media to threaten, embarrass, intimidate, or exclude someone, or to damage their reputation (e.g., sending threatening text messages).

Bullying vs harassment

Bullying and harassment are similar, yet different:

  • Harassment is similar to bullying because someone hurts another person through cruel, offensive and insulting behaviours.

  • Harassment is different from bullying in that it is a form of discrimination.

What is discrimination?

Discrimination is treating someone differently or poorly based on certain characteristics or differences. Bullying turns into harassment when the behaviour goes against Canada’s Human Rights Laws and focuses on treating people differently because of:

  • Age

  • Race (skin colour, facial features)

  • Ethnicity (culture, where they live, how they live, how they dress)

  • Religion (religious beliefs)

  • Sexual orientation and gender identity (if they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or heterosexual)

  • Family status (if they are from a single parent family, adopted family, step family, foster family, non-biological gay or lesbian parent family)

  • Marital status (if they are single, legally married, common-law spouse, widowed, or divorced)

  • Physical and mental disability (if they have a mental illness, learning disability, use a wheelchair)