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Policy on Disruptive Social BehaviourPDF 6
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2. What are Disruptive Social Behaviours?
2.1 Bullying
A. Definition
We define bullying as any behaviour, typically carried out repeatedly by an individual or group, that
intentionally or unintentionally causes harm (pain, suffering), unhappiness or humiliation to another. Bullying
behaviour has three main elements or conditions:
1. Hostile nature: the behaviour intentionally or unintentionally causes pain, suffering, unhappiness,
discomfort, and/ or humiliation to the affected student/ group.
2. Repetition over time: upon investigation, the incident in focus is likely to have a history of repeated
targeting of the same student(s) by the same individual(s). However, the incident may be considered
bullying upon a single instance when the incident is severe in nature.
3. Power imbalance (real or perceived): in most cases, the perpetrator feels a kind of power over the
affected student(s) because of the bullying behaviour and it is difficult for the affected students(s) to put
up a defence. Some examples include (note: this is not an exhaustive list):
i. The perpetrator is physically larger and more intimidating.
ii. There is a difference in age, experience or intellect between the perpetrator and the affected student.
iii. The perpetrator has found out exactly what upsets the affected student.
iv. The perpetrator is a member of a particular social group and has the power to exclude or isolate
others.
B. Types of Bullying
Bullying behaviour has both direct and indirect forms. Direct bullying refers to face-to-face bullying and
indirect refers to more hidden forms that are not easily seen by others like excluding people from groups or
asking another individual to intimidate another as part of an ongoing pattern of targeting.
1. Traditional Bullying
Traditional bullying includes physical, verbal, relational/ social harm and damage to property. Examples of
these include, but are not limited to:
I.
Physical: use of physical force, such as hitting, punching, shoving, spitting, tripping, taking belongings.
II.
Verbal: harmful spoken or written communication, such as taunts, name-calling, offensive gestures,
threats.
III.
Social: targeting social reputation and relationships through isolation, boycotting, exclusion, rumour
spreading, or derogatory online posts. This also includes gaslighting and coldness towards others.
IV.
Property Damage: theft, alteration, or destruction of the affected individual’s belongings.
2. Cyberbullying
Cyberbullying is the use of digital platforms to intentionally harm and target others. It is similar to traditional
bullying but can be more harmful because it can be anonymous, can reach a wider audience, and the material
online can be difficult to remove. It includes harassing, mean or inappropriate comments, taking humiliating
pictures, and posting images without consent on social media forums, blogs, message boards, gaming sites, etc.
Some incidents involve an accomplice recording a bullying act to post online, aiming to harm or defame the
individual.
I.
Repetition and Impact: Unlike traditional bullying, cyberbullying does not necessarily require repeated
actions by the perpetrator, as harmful messages or images remain online indefinitely. Each view of
hurtful content can be considered a new instance of harm, creating ongoing damage with a potentially
global audience and leaving a lasting digital footprint. This heightens the psychosocial impact on the
targeted student.
II.
Power Imbalance and Anonymity: Cyberbullying does not necessarily involve a direct power
imbalance, as anonymity allows individuals who might be disadvantaged in face-to-face situations to
Policy on Disruptive Social Behaviours, Aitchison College
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