National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence

Friday 19 March 2021 is National Day of Action against Bullying and Violence, Australia’s key bullying prevention initiative, connecting schools and communities to find workable solutions to bullying and violence.

This year’s theme is “Bullying. No Way!”.

The “Bullying is Never OK!” video is a brilliant resource and I encourage everyone to share it on their social media pages today.

Some facts about bullying:

“Bullying is an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm.” Source: Bullying. No Way!

"Physical and verbal bullying, such as kicking or name calling can be easy to see (overt). Other types of bullying, such as social exclusion or spreading rumours are not as easy to see (covert). A person can be bullied about many different things such as how they look, sound or speak; their background, religion, race or culture including being Aboriginal; they have a disability; their size or body shape; their schoolwork, hobbies or achievements; or other ways they may be different. Bullying can also happen online using technology such as the internet or mobile devices. This is also called cyberbullying.” Source: NSW Government - Department of Education

Support and advice for families can be found here:

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/support-and-advice/for-families

Fact sheets for families:

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/resources/fact-sheets/fact-sheets-for-families Understanding bullying:

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/understanding-bullying

Responding to bullying:

https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/responding-to-bullying

Need help now? If you're a young person aged 5-25 years old and you need help now, you can access private and confidential 24/7 phone and online counselling service everyday of the year:

• Phone the Kids Helpline on free call 1800 55 1800

• Chat to a counsellor online: https://kidshelpline.com.au/get-help/webchat-counselling

• Find more information from the Bullying. No Way! website page: https://bullyingnoway.gov.au/contact-us/need-help-now