If you are being bullied:
Kia kaha - stand strong.  You are not bad or wrong, it's the bully that's at fault.
You don’t have to put up with bullying.
Tell someone you trust , preferably an adult, and keep telling people until they help you.

Bullying is making other people feel bad about themselves on purpose. Remember that you don’t have to hit someone to do that. Bullies sometimes threaten to damage someone’s property, or they can use verbal abuse, scare people or make them do things they don’t want to do. It can also include stuff like name calling and txt or email bullying too.

There are lots of people and organisations who can help you and it doesn't mean that anything bad will happen to the bully. It might be that they need help.
You could tell your parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, teachers or coaches. It’s up to you really. All of us have someone we trust and all we have to do is talk to them. It doesn’t have to be a grown up. If you have good friends you can talk to them. If you still don’t think you can tell somebody , or they're not helping you, you can always ring people like Youthline, What's Up or 0800 no bully (their numbers are in the phone book) - they're there to help you. But tell somebody!

REMEMBER THAT : if someone is making you feel afraid, scared, nervous or threatens you then it’s ok to tell. The only people who don’t want you to tell are the bullies, because they know they’re doing something wrong. It’s not your fault you’re being bullied.  Asking for help is your right and is different from 'telling tales'. Fighting back may only land you in trouble. TALK TO SOMEBODY and ASK FOR HELP.

Did you know

Sometimes people bully others because :
they may have low self esteem
they might have been been bullied themselves
they might think that it will make them cool to other kids or themselves.

Lots of different people get bullied.  Kids right throughout New Zealand and the world are bullied every day. It doesn't matter who you are. Some people that were bullied as children were Sir Winston Churchill, the Queen, actors Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, and Kate Winslet, Tyra Banks (presenter of 'America's Top Model') and director Steven Spielberg are just a few of the famous people who were bullied as kids.

If you or someone you know is being bullied online or via a mobile phone tell your parents and they can contact your Mobile Phone or Internet Service Provider  (like Telcom or Vodafone or Ihug, Xtra or Clearnet) and have the numbers blocked so the messages can't reach your phone.

There are lots of ways that a bully can be helped so they learn to feel better about themselves and about others. You telling someone about the bullying helps you and could really help them.