What is Anti-Bullying week? Anti-Bullying Week is an annual event set up by the Anti-Bullying Alliance to give people all over the country a chance to think about bullying and help come up with new ideas on how to prevent it.  This Anti-Bullying Week we call on children and young people to take the lead on creating a future without bullying - using new technologies to promote positive communication rather than being held back by cyberbullying #ABW2013.

Effects on bullying Bullying can affect everyone, those who are bullied, those who bully, and those who witness bullying. Bullying is linked to many negative outcomes including impacts on mental health, substance use, and suicide. It is important to talk to kids to determine whether bullying or something else is a concern.

Alarming facts about bullying Suicide is the third leading cause of death among young people, resulting in about 4,400 deaths per year, according to the CDC. For every suicide among young people, there are at least 100 suicide attempts. Over 14 percent of high school students have considered suicide, and almost 7 percent have attempted it. Bully victims are between 2 to 9 times more likely to consider suicide than non- victims, according to studies by Yale University A study in Britain found that at least half of suicides among young people are related to bullying 10 to 14 year old girls may be at even higher risk for suicide, according to the study above According to statistics reported by ABC News, nearly 30 percent of students are either bullies or victims of bullying, and 160,000 kids stay home from school every day because of fear of bullying

Three things to do if bullied! Don’t reply: most of the time the bully is looking for a reaction when they’re teasing or calling someone nasty names. Remind young people not to reply, if they do they’re giving the bully exactly what they want. Save the evidence: encourage young people to save the evidence of any emails or text messages they receive. This is so they have something to show when they do report the cyberbullying. Tell someone: encourage young people to tell a trusted adult if they are being cyberbullied, and to tell them as soon as they can in order to minimize their own upset or worry

What is cyberbullying? Cyberbullying is the use of electronic communication, to bully a person, by sending messages to intimidate and threatening nature. Cyber bullying is any form of bullying which takes place online or through your mobile phone. Websites like Facebook, Bebo, YouTube, MySpace, instant messaging on MSN and gaming forums can be great fun. But what do you do when things go wrong? Cyber bullying is rife on the internet and most young people will experience it at some time.

Cyber-bullying statistics Statistics on bullying collated from government reports and research. 38% of young people have been affected by cyber-bullying. 31,599 children called ChildLine in 2011/12 about bullying. Almost half (46%) of children and young people say they have been bullied at school at some point in their lives. 38% of disabled children worried about being bullied. 18% of children and young people who worried about bullying said they would not talk to their parents about it. Source: http://www.nspcc.org.uk/inform/resourcesforprofessionals/bullying/bullying_statistics_wda857 32.html