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One of my friends has told me that a group of girls at school have been saying nasty things about me on Facebook. They sent me some hurtful messages and then defriended me so that I can't see what they have been saying. They now giggle & whisper when I'm
near them at school. I'm finding it really upsetting & don't know what to do. I can't tell my parents as they won't understand and will
take my mobile phone away.
It sounds like this is getting you down but don't worry – there are things that you can do.
If you can't talk to your parents then talk to another trusted adult who will be able to help (perhaps a member of staff at school). They might also be able to help you to tell your parents how you are feeling.
Save the evidence by taking a screen shot of the messages – you can share these with the person that is helping you so that they can
investigate the situation.
Make sure that your settings are 'private' so that you are protecting yourself online.
Don't respond or retaliate to messages – this is very tempting but it won't help to get things sorted.
Being unkind to somebody on the internet or through technology is cyberbullying. You will find more information and advice here:
cyberbullying and here http://www.bullying.co.uk/cyberbullying/what-to-do-if-you-re-being-bullied-on-a-social-network/
Your school will have an anti-bullying policy that outlines how bullying will be dealt with and what support will be provided. You should find this on your school website and lots of schools have a student friendly version. You might want to take a look at this so you know what help you can expect.
If you have a peer support scheme at your school you might find it easier to talk to a peer mentor as a first step.
People at school keep calling me 'gay' and a 'homo'. I think it's because I don't like football and I'm not very good at sport. It's really
getting me down and I've started to dread going to school. I'm worried about telling in case it makes it worse. I don't know what to do.
Firstly, it's ok not to like sport & you don't deserve to be picked on – so just remember this isn't your fault. It's
important to follow your own interests and be able to be yourself.
Any type of bullying is not acceptable & it's important to tell a trusted adult (parent/carer, school staff) so that they can help. It is
important to get support and school staff can't help if they don't know how you feel – so telling is an essential first step.
What you have described is homophobic bullying. Anyone can be a target regardless of their sexual orientation, you don't have to
identify as gay or lesbian. You will find more information here: homophobic bullying
Your school will have an anti-bullying policy that outlines how bullying will be dealt with and what support will be provided. You should find this on your school website and lots of schools have a student friendly version. You might want to take a look at this so you know what help you can expect.
Meanwhile, make a note of what has happened (who, what, where, when) so that you can share this information with the person that you are asking for help.
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