Features : Beat bullying

Media coverage and anti-bullying initiatives often focus on school children, but sadly bullying does not get left at the school gates. For some people, whether it is during tutorials, in university halls or via text messaging, bullying occurs at university and is a real problem.

Research by the National Union of Students suggests there is significant bullying in Further and Higher Education and a lack of awareness of complaints procedures amongst students. Of over 1,500 respondents, 63% said they had experienced bullying at university.

Ama Uzowuru, NUS welfare campaign member said: ‘Being bullied has a major impact on your health; it leads to self-doubt, lack of confidence, low self-esteem, depression, anxiety, self-harm and sometimes even suicide. Many students up and down the country are dropping out of university because they just can’t cope anymore. Everyone has the right to study in safety.’

Bullying can be in the form of verbal abuse, malicious lies, humiliation and unfair criticism and can be by fellow students, lecturers, supervisors or flat mates. Bullying can also be much more subtle and increasingly is happening via email or text. It may last under a month or could go on for over a year. The problem should not be underestimated as the effects of bullying can result in low self-worth, disrupted sleep patterns and affect academic performance.

Anne Lamb, Harassment Adviser at Loughborough University says people can be targeted for a variety of reasons, such as their gender, race and sexual orientation for example. Sometimes though, there are no obvious reasons why an individual is being targeted.

‘Bullying can take many forms, but usually is an abuse of power or position. It usually undermines an individual so that their confidence and self-esteem is destroyed. It is intentional and can be very subtle,’ she explains.

Getting help

If you are experiencing bullying at university, it may be the last place you want to talk about it, but it is important to speak up as they could help.

‘Universities do take the issue of bullying very seriously,’ says Anne. ‘Here at Loughborough, we have a support network for students if they feel that they are being bullied. We have a clear policy on harassment and bullying that applies to all students and is endorsed by senior management. The support network is well known and well publicised across campus. As a result of the proactive work done at the University, fortunately incidences of bullying and harassment are low.’

The NUS says overall, universities need to do more to make anti-bullying help accessible and inclusive. Even where anti-bullying policies do exist, students may not know about them and they can be difficult to use, suggesting that the problem of bullying is much bigger than is currently reported or recognised by universities.

The NUS Bullying Sucks campaign highlights bullying is a particular problem for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans students, who make up around 7% of the student population; 6% of all the respondents to the NUS survey said that they had experienced homophobic or transphobic bullying whilst at university or college. With the help of experts, the NUS have produced an online module homophobic bullying to help people being bullied take steps to help themselves.

Talk about it

Bullying can affect anyone and seeking the support of someone is the first thing to do if you feel you are being bullied. This could be a friend, relative, a doctor, tutor or a member of staff from a support service. Often students unions have members who are trained to help students cope with issues such as this.

‘If a student feels able to, they should report the matter to someone in authority, such as a hall warden or a member of academic staff,’ says Anne. ‘Although sometimes people are reluctant to come forward, universities are aware of the sensitivities of dealing with cases like this and will do all they can to support a student who feels they are being bullied or harassed.’

If you are an onlooker and you can see that someone else is being bullied, there is a lot you can do to help, even if it is just to lend an ear. ‘Talk to the individual and offer them support,’ advises Anne. ‘Encourage them to report the matter and to record the incidents that are taking place.’

Bullying at university is potentially damaging to students’ future careers so it is important to report incidents to ensure the matter is not overlooked in higher education. ‘If you feel able to, you could accompany them if they want to report the matter,’ advises Anne. ‘If you don’t feel able to offer the individual support, help them find support from an alternative source, such as a student support officer. Quite often, individuals do not want to take any action, but just need someone to talk to about the matter.’

Further information

• National Union of Students (NUS)
• Beat Bullying