Bullying can be described as ongoing and intentional harm of a person or a group that can lead to physical or psychological injury.

This can occur face to face, online or via other means and usually occurs within a relationship that involves an imbalance of power.

Check the Australian Human Rights Commission factsheet

The sort of repeated behaviour that can be considered bullying includes:

• keeping someone out of a group (online or offline)
• acting in an unpleasant way near or towards someone
• giving nasty looks, making rude gestures, calling names, being rude and impolite, and constantly negative teasing
• spreading rumours or lies, or misrepresenting someone (like using their Facebook account to post messages as if it were them)
• mucking about that goes too far
• harassing someone based on their race, sex, religion, gender or a disability
• intentionally and repeatedly hurting someone physically
• intentionally stalking someone
• taking advantage of any power over someone else, like a student representative

Harassment is when a person is treated negatively due to their individual characteristics, these may include their:

• race
• gender identity
• sexual orientation
• age
• disability
• marital status
• financial status

Some forms of harassment can be against the law and the behaviour doesn’t necessarily need to be repeated as a one-off incident can constitute as harassment.

These behaviours can include, but are not limited to:

• taunting or making a degrading comment about another person’s race
• telling a joke that is considered to be insulting to a specific group
• publicly displaying offensive material that could be deemed racially offensive or sexually explicit
• sharing or sending explicit or sexually suggestive material via online or text message
• asking someone inappropriate or intrusive personal questions. this could include questions of a sexual nature

Stalking is deliberate and repeated contact, following, communication and/or harassment of an individual that can cause significant emotional distress and could lead them to fear for their own safety or the safety of another.

Stalking behaviour can involve threats of violence and/or sexual innuendo which is done to create fear and control over another person.

This may include:

• contact via phone, text, social media
• hacking into a person’s social media or email accounts
• using technology to spy on or track a person
• leaving messages for the person to find i.e.: at their home, work desk or on their car
• unwanted gifts being left for the person
• following someone
• continuous staring at another person, gesturing to or making feel uncomfortable

Stalking is a criminal offense!