Bullying is never okay. It can be difficult to understand what it is unless you’ve experienced or witnessed it. Here are some helpful definitions:
Bullying
Bullying is offensive, intimidating, malicious or insulting behaviour involving the misuse of power that can make a person feel vulnerable, upset, humiliated, undermined or threatened. Power does not always mean being in a position of authority, but can include both personal strength and the power to coerce through fear or intimidation. Bullying can take the form of physical, verbal and non-verbal conduct. Non-verbal conduct includes posting on social media outlets. Bullying may include, by way of example:
- Shouting at, being sarcastic towards, ridiculing or demeaning others
- Online abuse
- Physical or psychological threats
- Overbearing and intimidating levels of supervision
- Inappropriate and/or derogatory remarks about someone's performance
- Abuse of authority or power by those in positions of seniority
- Deliberately excluding someone from meetings or communications without good reason
If you want to talk to someone about an instance of bullying, make a report via the Tell us what happened reporting option. Alternatively, you can make an anonymous disclosure which we cannot investigate but might aid us in identifying trends, patterns, and learning opportunities. Choose the Tell us anonymously option.
Student support
- Gateway Canterbury: gatewaycanterbury@uca.ac.uk or telephone 01227 817314
- Gateway Epsom: gatewayepsom@uca.ac.uk or telephone 01372 202461
- Gateway Farnham: gatewayfarnham@uca.ac.uk or telephone 01252 892709
- Student Services
- You can also contact the Students' Union
Staff support
Your wellbeing is important to us. You can access UCA services via Health, Safety and Wellbeing.
If you prefer to first speak with an external source of support, you can do so via our Employee Assistance Programme.