2.5 Bullying: what about the actions of other athletes?

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Two young female athletes are standing together on a tennis court. They are laughing and pointing at another young female athlete who has turned away from them and looks unhappy and distressed.

Bullying is often found to be the number one concern for children – but it’s not just an issue for children – it also affects many adults in sport. It is a form of emotional/psychological abuse.

Identify the different types of bullying

Think about the different ways people may bully others. Make notes below and then compare it to our list.

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Answer

Here is what we came up with – did you think of any different examples?

Bullying can take many forms including:

Physical – hitting, pushing, kicking or other physical assaults; intimidating; taking or damaging belongings.
Verbal – offensive name-calling, insults or gossiping, spreading nasty rumours, constantly undermining someone.
Non-verbal – using offensive hand gestures or signs; excluding, ignoring or ‘blanking’ someone.
Racist, sexist or homophobic – racist remarks, sexist comments, or homophobic, transphobic or gender-related comments.
Sexual – sexualised name-calling, comments, or threats; inappropriate and uninvited touching; inappropriate sexual propositions.
Online – use of social media or text messages to make comments, send threats, and spread rumours and allegations.

Bullying can have long-term effects and can happen wherever people get together – including within sport.

It’s sometimes assumed that bullying between children is less serious than abuse by adults – but this is not necessarily true. Bullying behaviour always requires a response.

How can you stop bullying?

Take a moment to list what could be done in-person and online to protect people from bullying.

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Answer

Here are some of our ideas:

  • Make sure your safeguarding policy or code of ethics covers anti-bullying.
  • Run awareness campaigns about what bullying is and why it should be challenged.
  • Include bullying in your code of conduct.
  • Educate athletes about cyber-bullying.

The impact of bullying can last a lifetime – it’s always important to act.

Next, you look in more detail at online bullying.

2.4 How are behaviours which cause a safeguarding concern identified?

2.6 How are digital technologies used to bully and harass victims?