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Bullying
Being bullied can feel terrible. If you need someone to talk to, reach out to an adult you trust. You also can contact a national helpline for kids and teens. If you are considering suicide or are having emotional problems, please contact Lifeline by chat or by phone at 800-273-TALK (8255). You can feel better.
Bullying is when a person who has more power is mean to someone else over and over again. The power could be something like physical strength or popularity. Bullying includes things like hitting, shoving, insulting, threatening, spreading rumors, and purposely leaving someone out. No matter what the type of bullying, being bullied can feel absolutely awful.
If you have been bullied, you may think you are alone. The truth is bullying is very common. Around 1 out of 4 students in middle school and high school have been bullied.
If you have been bullied, you can get help. Talk to a parent or guardian, teacher, or another adult you trust. It’s the job of adults to make sure your situation gets better.
Bullying is never the fault of the person who is bullied. It is always wrong. And in some cases, it is even against the law!
Girlshealth.gov can help. We have a lot of information on what to do if you are being bullied. We also have info for girls who bully and for girls who witness bullying. If you just want the key points, you can print our one-page bullying fact sheet [ PDF 180K]. Check out the list on the left for all the topics we cover. And here's a list of some of our popular Bullying topics:
- Cyberbullying
- Different ways girls bully
- Why some girls may be bullied
- How to stop bullying others
- Ways to protect yourself from bullying
- Bullying at school
Do you want a little inspiration? You can read about a girl who was bullied and found ways to stay strong. And you can watch a video by teens who are bashing bullying.
= You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader® to view some of these files after you've downloaded them. If you have problems with PDF documents, please download the latest version of the Reader®.
Content last reviewed April 15,2014
Page last updated September 30, 2014