Anti-Bullying Week: ‘One in five young people’ has been bullied in past year

'Bullying is blighting the lives of hundreds of thousands of children,' says children's commissioner for England

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One in five young people has experienced bullying in the past 12 months, a new charity report has warned.

Anti-bullying charity Ditch the Label released the figures to coincide with Anti-Bullying Week - which takes place this year from Monday 11 November until Friday 15 November - and aims to raise awareness of bullying and help “create a safe environment for everyone”.

The report asked more than 2,300 young people, aged between 12 and 20, about their experiences of bullying.

It found one in five young people in the UK were bullied in the past year, with one in 10 saying it is a daily occurrence.

Of the respondents who said they were bullied, a third stated that they experienced suicidal thoughts and 41 per cent said they felt anxious as a result.

Furthermore, 86 per cent of the young people who had been bullied said it had a negative effect on their confidence and 65 per cent stated that it impacted their social life.

The study outlined that the most common form of bullying was verbal, followed by social exclusion, intimidation and physical assault.

Cyber bullying was found to be the least common form of bullying, according to the report.

Anne Longfield, children’s commissioner for England, emphasised that bullying can have an “enormous” impact on the self-esteem and mental health of young people.

“It is worrying that one in five children are experiencing some form of bullying,” said Ms Longfield.

“Ditch the Label’s survey shows how bullying is blighting the lives of hundreds of thousands of children.”

More than half of the respondents who said they were bullied say they believed they were targeted due to their physical appearance

Nine per cent said they thought they were bullied because of their race.

The study also found that 59 per cent of young people who admitted to acting as a bully did so because they felt the bullied individual “deserved it” or because they disliked them.

If you are being bullied and are in need of support, you can contact the National Bullying Helpline on 08452255787. The helpline is open from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday.