Warning signs bullying

Warning signs bullying

In this activity, you will answer questions to make you reflect on why some bullied teenagers DO NOT REPORT the incidents and risk being bullied again. 

​If you struggle with any of the answers, read this article for clarification: https://www.verywellfamily.com/reasons-why-victims-of-bullying-do-not-tell-460784

Open Ended

Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

1. Do bullied teenagers feel ashamed for not having defended themselves better?

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Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

2. Do bullied teenagers somehow feel that something in their behaviour might have provoked the incident?

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Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

3. If teenagers report the incident, could there be more bullying from the ‘aggressors’?

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Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

4. Is it possible that their parents might call them ‘weak’ for not defending themselves?

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Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

5.?Do bullied teenagers somehow feel that something in their behaviour might have provoked the incident?

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Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

6. Do you think their peers will call them a ‘snitch’ or a ‘tattletale’ if they report the incident?

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Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

7. Could the bullied teenagers believe that they have no friend to defend them?

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Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

8. In the case of avoidance, is it possible that a bullied teenager does not know this is a form of bullying and consider that he just does not have friends?

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Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

9. In schools without a clear antibullying strategy, does a bullied teenager know who to report to and where?

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10. In the case of cyberbullying, are the bullied afraid the adults might restrict their online access (take their devices, block their social media) if they hear about bullying?

​Reasons for not reporting bullying: 

If you answered YES to all the questions above, then you've ticket the top reasons why bullying gets unreported, and these are:

• shame and embarrassment

• fear of consequences / more intense actions from the bullies

• fear being blamed by adults for not defending themselves

• fear of not being believed by adults

• desire to be accepted by the group (which includes the bullies)

• not wanting to be called a ‘snitch’ of a ‘tattletale’

• not being aware of what bullying is and minimizing the bullying actions

• not knowing who to report to or how to report 

• low self-esteem

• fear of losing digital access (especially in cases of cyberbullying)

​Report immediately

​Wrap-up: If you notice any of these warning signs, please report it immediately to your school because the team that deals with the anti-bullying strategy knows how to help the teenagers. 

Multiple Select

Answer the following question by circling all that apply: 

1. At school a bullied teenager can: 

• Look isolated from peers

• Be aggressive towards some peers

• Behave friendly and carefree

• Fall behind the lessons

• Refuse to participate in the lessons

Multiple Select

Answer the following question by circling all that apply: 

 2. Parents and caretakers can observe that a bullied teenager: 

• Has an active social life

• Has things or clothes missing 

• Asks for more pocket money than before 

• Finds different pretexts not to go to school 

• Communicates a lot about his friends and activities at school 

Multiple Select

Answer the following question by circling all that apply: 

 3. Bullied teenagers do not report incidents because: 

• They are afraid adults will blame them 

• They do not want to provoke the bully/ bullies even more

• They do not care 

• They want to take revenge in another way

• They might now know who to report to

Multiple Choice

Answer the following question by circling all that apply: 

4. When a teacher or parent realizes that a teenagers is being bullied at school, they should: 

• Think of a plan of action 

• Consider transferring the teenagers to another class or school 

• Report the bullying immediately

• Find the bully and confront him or her

• Call the parents of the bully