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Disclaimer: The material in this print-out relates to the law as it applies in the state of Victoria. It is intended as a general guide only. Readers should not act on the basis of any material in this print-out without getting legal advice about their own particular situations. Victoria Legal Aid disclaims any liability howsoever caused to any person in respect of any action taken in reliance on the contents of the publication.

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Bullying online or at school

Find out about the types of bullying and why it is never ok. Learn how to protect yourself from cyberbullying and what to do if you are bullied.

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Bullying is never ok. In the most serious cases, bullying is treated as a crime in Victoria. This includes bullying over the internet or through a mobile phone.

If you are being bullied at school, you can take action to stop it.

Schools have a responsibility to make you feel safe. Most schools have policies about bullying.

What is bullying?

Bullying is when someone behaves in a way towards another person or group of people to:

  • upset or hurt them
  • damage their property, reputation or acceptance by others.

Bullying is usually repeated behaviour and may continue over a number of days, weeks, months or years. It can happen anywhere: at school, at work at home or somewhere you sped time recreationally.

Anyone can be a bully. This includes a teacher, student, family member or someone you’ve had a close relationship with.

Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying is behaviour that happens through the internet or mobile. It is illegal and is just as serious as other types of bullying.

It can also sometimes be even more damaging than face-to-face bullying because electronic communication is fast and can spread easily. More information about cyberbullying can be found under Types of bullying.

Types of bullying

There are different types of bullying:

  • Direct physical: this means the bully hurts your body, doing things like hitting, tripping, pinching, pushing or kicking you. It can also mean they steal or damage things that belong to you.
  • Direct verbal: this means the bully speaks to or about you in a mean and hurtful way, like teasing or calling you names that may be racist or homophobic, or spreading rumours about you.
  • Indirect: this includes things that the bully does to upset, exclude or embarrass you. This includes leaving you out of a game on purpose, mimicking you, or using rude body language. It also includes:
    • playing nasty jokes
    • texting
    • emailing you unwanted messages
    • using chat rooms to upset you.

Cyberbullying is online and includes:

  • someone making threats to another person or group of people online or using email, texting or instant messaging
  • someone tricking another person or group of people about his or her identity online
  • online stalking (stalking is when someone repeatedly does things that make you feel scared)
  • spreading personal information or secrets online or using email, texting or instant messaging
  • bombarding another person or group of people with offensive messages online or using email, texting or instant messaging.

What you can do

If someone is bullying you, you can take action to stop it.

This includes:

  • Making a list of all the things that have happened and when they happened, who was involved and who may have seen it.
  • Saving or taking a screenshot of any messages you receive if you're experiencing cyberbullying. You may be able to block the sender's messages yourself, or get your internet service provider to help you.
  • Seeing a doctor if you're hurt or stressed, and telling the doctor why.

If the bullying is happening at school, talk to a teacher, the school counsellor or the school principal about what they can do. Be prepared to name the bully, even if you're worried about what might happen.

Ongoing bullying or harassment could also be stalking. You may have a right to apply to a court for an intervention order to stop the behaviour.

How to stay safe online

There are also things you can do to stay safe online.

Protect your personal information

Don’t put any personal information online that can be used to identify you. Use a screen name rather than your full name.

Keep your address, phone number, where you go to school and your date of birth private.

Use strong passwords

Make sure you use strong passwords for your email and social media (use a combination of letters and numbers that is hard for someone else to guess).

You should also:

  • use a different password for each account
  • change your passwords regularly and don’t tell anyone else what they are – not even your friends.

Keep your social networking private

It’s hard to keep social networking private, however these tips can help.

  • Remember, any information and photos that you put online can be easily shared, without you knowing.
  • Limit who can see your profile and your photos and information. Most sites are not private, but once you set up an account you can change the settings to stop people you don’t know from seeing your personal information.
  • Don’t just rely on privacy settings. Social networking sites change all the time and what was ‘private’ one day can be made public the next.

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