11 Facts About Bullying

Welcome to DoSomething.org, a global movement of millions of young people making positive change, online and off! The 11 facts you want are below, and the sources for the facts are at the very bottom of the page. After you learn something, Do Something! Find out how to take action here.

Here’s a bonus fact: five positive affirmations can cancel the impact of one negative one. Spread kind words and good vibes at your school through our Cancel Bullying campaign, powered by Hollister.

If you are being bullied, call the No Bully Help Hotline at 1-866-488-7386. See additional resources at the bottom of this page.

1. In the US, 1 in 5 students ages 12-18 has been bullied during the school year.^[National Center for Education Statistics. "Bullying: Fast Facts.” Accessed Aug. 21, 2019. https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=719]
2. Approximately 160,000 teens have skipped school because of bullying.^[Bureau of Justice Statistics, The National Education Association. "Indicators of School Crime and Safety.” Accessed Aug. 21, 2019, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/bullying/2010bullyvictimdata.html.]
3. Students who reported that they were frequently bullied scored lower in reading, mathematics, and science than their peers who reported that they were never or rarely bullied.^[Bureau of Justice Statistics, The National Education Association. "Indicators of School Crime and Safety.” Accessed Aug. 21, 2019, http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/bullying/2010bullyvictimdata.html.]
4. The most commonly reported type of bullying is verbal harassment (79%), followed by social harassment (50%), physical bullying (29%), and cyberbullying (25%).^[Youth Truth Student Survey. "How Are Students Experiencing Bullying?" Accessed Aug. 21, 2019. https://youthtruthsurvey.org/bullying/.]
5. Labeling an incident as bullying can be important because it influences whether students tell an adult, as well as how adults respond to the student’s report.^[US Department of Health and Human Services. "The Role of Teachers and Other School Staff in Bullying Prevention ." Accessed Aug. 21, 2019. https://www.prevnet.ca/sites/prevnet.ca/files/fact-sheet/PREVNet-SAMHSA-Factsheet-The-Role-of-Teachers-and-Other-Staff-in-Bullying-Prevention.pdf.]
6. More than half of bullying situations (57%) stop when a peer intervenes on behalf of the student being bullied.^[National Bullying Prevention Center. "Bullying Facts.” Accessed Aug. 21, 2019. https://www.pacer.org/bullying/resources/facts.asp.]
7. 6th grade students experience the most bullying (31%).^[StopBullying.gov, "A Snapshot on Bullying in America." Accessed Aug. 21, 2019. https://www.stopbullying.gov/sites/default/files/2017-10/stop-bullying-infographic.pdf.]
8. 70% of school staff have seen bullying. 62% witnessed bullying two or more times in the last month, and 41% witness bullying once a week or more.^[StopBullying.gove. "Facts About Bullying: Statistics" Accessed Aug. 21, 2019. https://www.stopbullying.gov/media/facts/index.html]
9. Students are less likely to report bullying as they get older. Only 39% of high schoolers notified an adult of bullying.^[Anti-Defamation League. "Statistics on Bullying." Accessed Aug. 21, 2019. https://www.adl.org/sites/default/files/documents/bullying-cyberbullying-statistics-overview-one-sheet.pdf.]
10. 42% percent of students who reported being bullied at school indicated that the bullying was related to at least one of the following characteristics: physical appearance (30%), race (10%), gender (8%), disability (7%), ethnicity (7%), religion (5%), and sexual orientation (4%).^[National Center for Education Statistics. "Indicator 10: Bullying at School and Electronic Bullying.” Indicators of School Crime and Safety. Accessed August 21, 2019. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/ind_10.asp]
11. Over half of students ages 12-18 who reported being bullied believed their bullies had the ability to influence what other students thought of them. ^[National Center for Education Statistics. "Spotlight 2: Perceptions of Bullying Among Students Who Reported Being Bullied: Repetition and Power Imbalance.” Indicators of School Crime and Safety. Accessed August 21, 2019. https://nces.ed.gov/programs/crimeindicators/ind_10.asp]

Additional Resources:

No Bully Help Hotline: 1-866-488-7386

STOMP Out Bullying HelpLine: view hours and chat online

GLBT National Youth Talkline: 1-800-246-7743

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255