Once we have clarified what bullying is, what types there are, and how to detect it (if you have not read it, you can do it here), the time has come to fight it.

What can we do to prevent it?

First of all, we must understand that this is the main point of our strategy. Once bullying starts, it is very difficult to control it, and therefore, the axis on which to act will be, unequivocally, the strong>prevention.

Due to the different motivations for harassment, the solution proposal must be broad and open, and with dialogue as the main tool to understand, in the first place, why this harassment could occur.

Reduction of incidence

The child’s environment must establish measures that prevent the appearance of new cases of bullying. To do this, you must first identify the risk factors that can generate them.

Reduction in cases

If the harasser fears being punished, harassment will be less likely to occur. Carrying out actions that imply that adults are aware of harassment, and that make it difficult for them to abuse continues to occur, it is key. However, in order to use this method, there must be fluid communication between families and teaching staff.

Intervention in all cases

The intervention must be individualized, and it must be early. Sometimes, you even have to modify the class structure, because they could be encouraging bullying.

Furthermore, it is important to act on the students involved, both the victim and the bully. In the end, the important thing is to always promote respect for diversity.

Psychological care for the victim

There are cases in which the victim, once the harassment situation has been resolved, does not need additional support, but there are others in which they may require it. The important thing is to observe how the person affected responds to harassment, or their capacity for resilience.

General prevention

There are some basic rules that we must follow if we want to avoid the appearance of bullying:

• Properly inform children about what bullying is, how to identify it and how to act.
• Do not downplay under any circumstances importance a possible case of bullying. Respect and Listening are key for the victim to feel safe and ask for help.
• Set an example as adults: respect and kindness are the foundations of the fight against bullying.

And once located, what do we do?

On the part of parents and family members

In the case of the closest environment, let’s see step by step how to act against bullying:

• Listen to the child and assure him that he has the right to feel safe and happy. The important thing is to make him understand that he is not to blame for suffering harassment.
• Take notes of what you tell us with dates, places and facts.
• Make her feel safe , let her know that you are by her side and listening to her, and that you will be there for whatever she needs. A clear objective is to reinforce the self-esteem of the victim.
• Try to make the minor understand the difference between “raising” or “snitching” and “< strong>ask for help”.
• Try to maintain asincere and open communication with the staff of the center, mainly with the director and the tutor > of the child. Also, if necessary, you should contact the police to avoid bullying situations outside of school hours.
• Teach the victim to respond to harassment: minimize the impact on the aggressor, for example.

On the part of the teachers

The main function of teachers is to stay alert and carefully observe what is happening around the victim, to act as soon as possible in a bullying situation.

• Demand an apology from students for lack of respect. In more extreme cases, disciplinary action may be taken, such as suspension.
• Propose activities that promote empathy and overcoming stereotypes.
• Properly monitor the playground.
• Report about the bullying to the authorities of the school, and request a meeting with the parents of those involved.
• In the case of the parents of the aggressor, recommend visits to the psychologist to study and solve the aggressor’s behavioral problems.
• Carry out games and activities that encourage the participation and inclusion of all children. Also, for introverted minors or those who find it difficult to socialize, look for integration methods.
• Train about bullying and use bullying detection tools.

The consequences of bullying

The consequences will fall, for the most part, on the victim. They can present themselves as:

• School failure.
• High levels of anxiety.
• Phobia of school.
• Dissatisfaction and/or personality changes. This leads to the child becoming an insecure person with low self-esteem.

Victims come to believe that they are not competent academically or socially. This can lead to aggressive reactions, which lead to suicide attempts.

Mobbing: harassment in adults

In the workplace, bullying is known as mobbing or workplace harassment. This type of harassment is usually psychological, through teasing, threats or isolation. However, in some cases, if nothing is achieved through psychological harassment, the aggressor may also resort to violent behavior that includes aggressions.

Generally, the goal of this mistreatment is to get the harassed person to resign or be fired from the company.

We find two main types of mobbing:

• Vertical mobbing: the aggressor is in a position of superiority at work compared to the victim, that is, he is his “boss” . He takes advantage of the command situation to harass one or more of his workers, through a wide variety of ways.
• Horizontal mobbing: both the harasser and the harassed are placed on the same hierarchical ladder, that is, they are coworkers. The origin of this type of harassment is usually envy, discrimination or workplace disagreements.

The consequences of adult bullying are physical and/or psychological. The physical ones usually present with symptoms caused by the somatization of stress and anxiety, while the psychological ones are depression, continuous stress or this same anxiety.

Regarding resources, once the situation is recognized, we have two courses of action:

• Legal route: workplace harassment is categorized and can be reported through criminal, civil or administrative litigation.
• Internal route: informing superiors (especially in the case of horizontal mobbing) and checking if there is a protocol for performance. If not, the company must propose a solution.

Adults who engage in mobbing, in turn, can be divided into several types (although other personalities may appear, these are the most common):

• Narcissistic bully: he does not feel empathy and is egocentric. He is not afraid of consequences, and his goal is to reduce another person’s self-esteem in order toincrease his own.
• Impulsive bully: he does not plan his bullying. He cannot contain himself, and sometimes he harasses without meaning to, driven by a situation of stress or anger.
• Physical bully: it is very rare in adults. However, you may steal or damage the victim’s belongings, or threaten to resort to physical violence.
• Verbal bullying: can create rumors and lies to discredit or humiliate the victim. It is harassment difficult to document, and one that has the most emotional and psychological impact.
• Secondary bully: he is the support of the main bully.