Young people and bullying

Ditch the Label has published the results of the Annual Bullying Survey 2014, the UK’s most comprehensive report into the bullying of young people,

In partnership with 36 schools and colleges across the UK, the survey of over 3,600 young people highlights the current climate of bullying amongst 13 to18 year olds.

Key findings from the report, which includes tips and advice on how to help reduce the effect and prominence of bullying within your environment, are that:

• 45 percent of young people experience bullying before the age of 18;
• 26 percent of those bullied have experienced bullying on a daily basis;
• 40 percent of respondents reported being bullied for personal appearance;
• 36 percent reported being bullied for body shape, size and weight;
• 39 percent have never told anybody that they are being bullied;
• 51 percent were not satisfied with the bullying support that they got from teachers;
• 34 percent reported being bullied for prejudice based reasons, including homophobia, racism, religious discrimination, disability discrimination, cultural discrimination and transphobia;
• 63 percent of respondents with a physical disability were bullied, and were more extremely socially excluded;
• 61 percent of respondents have been physically attacked;
• 30 percent have gone on to self-harm as a result of bullying;
• 10 percent have attempted to commit suicide as a result of bullying;
• 10 percent of respondents reported been sexually assaulted;
• 83 percent said bullying had a negative impact on their self-esteem;
• 56 percent said bullying affected their studies; and
• 41 percent of those who had never been bullied achieved A or A*grades in English, whereby 30 percent of those who had been bullied in the past achieved an A or A* in English and only 26 percent of those being bullied achieved an A or A* in English, with similar trends across Science and Maths.

To download the full survey report visit www.ditchthelabel.org/uk-bullying-statistics-2014.