The "Be Free" centre receives a considerable amount of questions on various topics related to bullying from both children and parents every day. In an attempt to respond to some frequently asked question, a series of articles are published addressing this matter.
Episode I: Bullying Concepts
Children are often subjected to peer abuse at school or other social environments. Such abuse may be a result of a transitory conflict with other children or a result of exposure to bullying from peers. Bullying occurs when one child feels immobilized due to being humiliated or blackmailed by another child or group of children.
- What are the differences between bullying and transitory dispute between friends?
The relationship between children is unhealthy when the bullying component is present. The victim experiences feelings of fear and humiliation and wants to avoid interacting with the bully because of the harm he inflects on him; either by physically attacking the child through beating or kicking, or emotionally abusing him through pinning labels or calling him names to induce humiliation and intimidation.
The victim often experiences feeling of helplessness, being left unprotected and that the only person in control is the bully.
On the other hand, transitory conflicts regularly occur between children, whether friends, colleagues or relatives. In such cases, relationships are sound and balanced , no one child is in control of the other and conflicts merely arise because of a specific matter, the elimination of this matter usually ends the conflict.
- What are the forms of bullying?
Bullying is not limited to a particular form. Various forms of bullying are present and the bully could practice any of the following:- Verbal abuse:
Is the use of demeaning words to ridicule, insult or humiliate the child, his belief, his social status, his origin, his looks or the job of either his parents. - Physical abuse:
Physical abuse can take the form of beating, kicking, throwing, punching, violent shoving or other. - Destruction or seizing control of a child's property:
In this case; the bully demonstrates control over the victim's property. It can take the form of seizing, disposing of, exploiting or damaging the child's property. At times for no reason other than to practice abuse. Examples may include tearing books, stationery or cloths, seizing the child's pocket money, food tags or other. - Social isolation:
Social isolation occurs when a group of children deliberately singles out one child, ignore him and avoid playing or setting with them. - Defamation:
Is the dissemination of specific information about the child, whether real or unreal, with the intent of humiliating or demeaning him or a member of his family. - Intimidation or emotional extortion:
Takes place when a child is asked to carry out a specific task and is threatened with denouncing his character or denying him play with other children if he did not agree to do it. Different levels of extortion and blackmail may take place, it may range from pushing the victim to do the bully's home work or other duties to a more serious form such as that the child may be pushed to steal for the benefit of the bully. - Bullying on the Internet or through using technology:
Is the use of modern communication technologies to bully a child in the various forms mentioned above, with the exception of physical abuse. Reference will be made to this type in detail in the upcoming episodes.
- Verbal abuse:
The next article will address the impacts of bullying on the child and ways to know whether or not a child being bullied. See you in the next episode.
