Whakamāramatanga

It isn’t uncommon to hear someone say something insensitive or mean to someone else. Although these comments or actions are not okay, bullying has some specific features that make it much more serious and harmful.

Why do some people get bullied?

People can be bullied for any number of reasons, including differences in race, sexuality, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, disabilities and abilities, weight or height.

That’s why it’s so important to celebrate diversity and embrace our differences – we aren’t all the same and that’s a great thing!

Why do some people bully others?

Just as there are many reasons someone might experience bullying, there are also many reasons why someone might bully someone else.

• They feel unhappy.
• They have been the target of bullying themselves.
• They want to feel important or powerful.
• They don’t realise how their behaviour harms others.
• They believe being different is a bad thing.

Labelling someone who bullies as a “bad person” isn’t right or helpful. While the bullying behaviour isn’t okay, someone who bullies others often needs our help and awhi/support too.

Is bullying harmful? Why prevent bullying?

• Many studies show that rangatahi who are bullied are more likely to experience mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. This can impact on their learning, relationships and ability to feel good about who they are.

• Bullying harms the person being bullied, the person doing the bullying and can also harm those who witness it (bystanders).

• Rangatahi who bully others, or are bullied (or both), are more likely to skip classes, drop out of school, and perform worse academically than schoolmates who have no conflict with their peers (OECD, 2017).

• New Zealanders are more online, and online harm is more prevalent and cyberbullying is more recognised. The estimated societal cost of cyberbullying is $1,071m a year. (Sense Partners, 2023).

• By taking bullying seriously and celebrating the diversity of tauira/students, all rangatahi can feel safe and supported, and flourish at your school!

Some people are more likely to be targeted

While all young people are potential targets of bullying, some groups can experience higher rates. Boys, students from disadvantaged or immigrant backgrounds, and low achieving students are at higher risk. We see this trend happening not just in Aotearoa, but globally.

Homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying

These terms refer to bullying based on a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Rangatahi/young people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual or other sexuality and gender diverse communities, or are perceived to be part of the rainbow community, experience higher rates of bullying than students who do not. However, it is important to note that not all of these students will experience homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying.

The Youth19 national health and wellbeing survey of New Zealand secondary school students found:

1. Ministry of Education. (n.d.). Prevent Bullying / Welcome—Positive Behaviour for Learning. https://pb4l.tki.org.nz/Prevent-Bullying 
   
   
2. Steiner-Fox, H. W., Dutt, S. J., Christiansen, S. J., Newton, H. J., Matika, C. M., Lindsay, C., Sare, M.H. , Kapeli, S.A., & Stronge, S. (2016). Rates of cyberbullying among women and men in New Zealand in 2015. NZAVS Policy Brief, 3. https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/psych/about/our-research/nzavs/Feedback%20Reports/NZAVS-Policy-Brief-Rate-of-Cyber-Bullying.pdf 
   
   
3. Pacheco, Edgar and Melhuish, Neil, Online Hate Speech: A Survey on Personal Experiences and Exposure Among Adult New Zealanders (November 5, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3272148 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3272148 
   
   
4. Clark, T.C., Robinson, E., Crengle, S., Grant, S., Galbreath, R.A., & Sykora, J. (2009). Youth’07 The Health and Wellbeing of Secondary School Students in New Zealand: Young people and violence. Auckland: The University of Auckland.
   
   
5. Clark, T. C., Fleming, T., Bullen, P., Denny, S., Crengle, S., Dyson, B., Fortune, S., Lucassen, M., Peiris-John, R., Robinson, E., Rossen, F., Sheridan, J., Teevale, T., Utter, J. (2013). Youth’12 Overview: The health and wellbeing of New Zealand secondary school students in 2012. Auckland, New Zealand: The University of Auckland
   
   
6. Fenaughty, J., Sutcliffe, K., Fleming, T., Ker, A., Lucassen, M., Greaves, L., & Clark, T. (2021). Youth19 brief: Transgender and diverse gender students. Youth19 and The Adolescent Health Research Group, Auckland and Wellington. View more
   
   
7. Fleming, T., Archer, D., King-Finau, T., Dewhirst, M., & Clark, T. (2021). Youth19: Safety & violence brief. Youth19 and The Adolescent Health Research Group, Auckland and Wellington. View more
    
8. Fenaughty, J., Clark, T., Choo, W. L., Lucassen, M., Greaves, L., Sutcliffe, K., Ball, J., Ker, A., & Fleming, T. (2021). Te āniwaniwa takatāpui whānui: Te aronga taera mō ngā rangatahi: Sexual attraction and young people’s wellbeing in Youth19. Youth19 Research Group, The University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington.
   
   
9. Adams, J. Dickinson, P. & Asiasiga, L. (2012). Mental health promotion and prevention services to gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and intersex populations in New Zealand: Needs assessment report. Auckland: Te Pou o Te Whakaaro Nui, The National Centre of Mental Health Research, Information and Workforce Development.