Generally bullying is defined  as any form of  violence toward a victim involving unwanted aggressive behaviour from a bully (an individual or a group). At the heart of bullying is a power imbalance—whether perceived or actual—of social status, wealth, physical strength or size. Bullying can be repeated over periods of time, resulting in physical, psychological, social or educational harm.

The prolonged nature of bullying makes it different from one-time behaviours or isolated incidents like arguments and fights. 

Bullying behaviours include: 
– Physical intimidation or harm—tripping, hitting, pushing or spitting on a victim 
– Social exclusion, making fun of the victim, teasing, name calling and/or insults threats, property destruction, making the victim do something s/he doesn’t want to do
– Spreading rumours or lies about the victim
– Cyber-bullies torment their victims publicly, privately and/or anonymously through texting, apps, forums and gaming platforms. Rumours, threats and name calling are their usual weapons, but social media and texting allow cyber bullies to send victims explicit images, or send images of victims to others. 

Parents, guardians , siblings and/or teachers need to constantly check on behaviour changes and create a culture of openness and deliberately introduce the topic so that children are comfortable to talk in the event they are victims.