"Everyone has the right to be treated with respect and the responsibility to respect others”
(www.bullying.org)

What to do when you witness bullying:

 

When people stand around watching or even encouraging bullying (chanting "fight,  fight, fight" or laughing along with a mean joke), it implies that the bullying behaviour is acceptable.

1. Pay attention to your gut feelings when witnessing behaviours. "Something is not right"

2. Make sense of your feelings. What is making you feel that way? Does the behaviour you have witnessed fit with the description of bullying behaviour?

3. Assess the immediate situation and whether it is safe to intervene. Sometimes it is safe to speak up and sometimes it is better to walk away and get help from a trusted adult.

If it’s safe, make a plan for intervening. Research shows that bystanders who step in and take action can usually stop the bullying behaviour within 10 seconds (Craig and Pepler, 1997).

If it is unsafe, don’t put yourself in danger.  Witnessing bullying behaviour can be too intense or too intimidating for some people to come up with a plan to intervene.  That’s okay. You can always approach the person who was the target of bullying afterwards and console that person by acknowledging what happened to him/her was not right. This can make a real difference to the person who is the target of bullying.  Together you might be able to identify a trusted adult you can talk to.