Have you been a victim?
Can you tell the difference between teasing, arguing and bullying?
Do you know what violence is?
Violence is the use of force with the intent to hurt someone. It can take many forms: it can be verbal (insults, yelling); written (text messages, e-mails, etc.); physical (hitting, injuring); psychological (threatening or putting someone down, gossiping, excluding someone); material (stealing or breaking something belonging to another person); or sexual (language or behaviour that is inappropriate, embarrassing, humiliating, etc.).
Violence, when it occurs, is no accident. Someone can be attacked for many reasons: the perpetrator may want to make his or her friends laugh, gain social status, or frighten, threaten or dominate another person.
Acts of violence can traumatize not only the victims, but witnesses and peers as well. Violence can be experienced as outright aggression or threats, or as actions intended to dominate, oppress or even cause physical harm. There are also different degrees of violence, each of which can harm an individual physically, socially, materially and psychologically, or undermine his or her rights and freedoms.
Do you know what bullying is?
Bullying is when a person or a group of people insults, humiliates or excludes you, steals or breaks something of yours, or hits or threatens you. Bullying can be done to your face or behind your back, on the Web, through text messaging or on the phone. It’s no accident; nor is it teasing or joking, because it’s no laughing matter. It’s not just bickering or some disagreement between friends that ends and is soon forgotten. It happens over and over again. When someone’s being bullied, they can feel afraid and alone. They feel powerless and defenceless around the person, or persons, hurting them. And they don’t know how to make the bullying stop.
You must NEVER tolerate violence or bullying! You have to tell someone!!
To learn more about violence and bullying, click here.
Did you know that in June 2012 the Québec government passed a law to prevent and stop bullying and violence in schools?
What can you do to make it stop?
Don’t wait for things to get worse.
If the situation has been going on for some time, don’t wait for things to get worse.
Act immediately!
Do something now!
Remain calm, even though it’s not easy. Getting angry could make things more difficult.
Stay close to your friends.
If possible, stay close to friends whom you can count on. When you go around as a group, you’re less likely to be bullied and more able to defend yourselves if you are.
Speak up! Act!
Violence and bullying are serious matters. You must NEVER tolerate them! Don’t delay. Go find an adult you trust (e.g. a parent, relative, teacher, psychologist, school counsellor, subject specialist, coach, school caretaker, monitor) and tell him or her what is happening.
Standing up for yourself might work, but sometimes it’s just not enough. Reporting an act of violence or bullying doesn’t make you a “snitch.” You may have to tell someone in order to put a stop to the situation.
You can, at any time, talk to somebody in the principal’s office to report acts of violence or bullying.
If you feel that your safety is threatened and that you are in danger, or if you have been the victim of a criminal act (threats, physical aggression, etc.), don’t even hesitate. Call the police.
Is someone harassing you on the Internet, or by e-mail, text messaging or phone?
If someone is picking on you through a social network, such as Facebook or some other Web site, or by e-mail, texting or phone, you are experiencing cyberaggression. NEVER put up with this type of situation. Speak up!
What can you do to make it stop?
Protect yourself:
- KEEP your passwords secret and never give your telephone number or e-mail address to anyone you don’t know. On social networks, refuse “friend requests” or invitations from unknown sources.
- STAY in contact with your real friends outside of cyberspace.
Act:
- STOP replying to violent or bullying messages immediately.
- DO NOT send insulting or threatening messages because this can harm you, too, in the end and add to your troubles.
- BLOCK the e-mail addresses and phone numbers of people who pick on you. Whether you’re dealing with messages sent through social media, by e-mail or by phone, you can block them all.
- TALK about the situation with an adult you trust (e.g. parent or guardian, teacher, psychologist, school counsellor, coach, school caretaker, monitor).
- TRACE the e-mail addresses where the violent or bullying messages originated.
- SAVE all the violent or bullying messages you have received, whether they came in the form of e-mails, text messages or instant messaging.
- ALERT the police to all threats or any other type of situation in which you believe your safety to be seriously compromised.
Are you a victim of cyberaggression on Facebook?
Click here 
to see what you can do to stop it.