Bullying is traditionally associated with the classroom or the playground - and yet a huge amount of it goes on beyond the school gates.

Research shows that such bullying can differ from what might go on at school and typically includes extortion, intimidation, name-calling, cyber-bullying and barging-in (where a group of usually older children forcefully involve themselves in another group's activities, such as sport, intent on disruption or control).

This type of community bullying, which generally occurs at a few key sites like parks, shopping centres and streets, is of such significance that the Anti-Bullying Alliance (ABA) quizzed 1,078 seven-18-year-olds in England and found 35 per cent of them admitted being bullied outside school - four in 10 saying they found it more frightening as there were no adults around to help in those situations. Interestingly, 55 per cent thought that half or more of the bullying carried out in school, starts outside.

Sue Steel, the ABA's national co-ordinator, says: "Sometimes bullying spills into and out of schools, and while many children and young people feel able to turn to an adult for help, many still don't. We need to give them the support they need to change that."

Research has found that girls experience less bullying outside school than boys, although this may be because bullying against girls is more discreet. The forms of community bullying experienced by boys, such as name calling, barging-in and extortion, tend to be more physical and obvious.

"Girls do it more quietly, without the bravado of boys," says Steel.

"It can be the type of bullying where girls will say to another We're not going to be friends with you' - a type of ignoring bullying."

Bullying motivated by prejudice, such as that related to race, homophobia and disability, is just as likely to happen outside school, and conflict can also occur between two or more groups in the same area, with rivalries leading to intra-group bullying and violence.

Another key consideration is the rise of cyberbullying, which takes the form of malicious text messages or emails, or can involve setting up an abusive website or posting nasty messages or humiliating video clips on social networking sites.

Research has suggested that 22 per cent of young people have experienced cyber-bullying at least once, and Steel says: "The particularly upsetting thing about cyber-bullying is that young people can't escape from it."

She stresses that the most important thing parents can do if they fear their child is being bullied anywhere is talk to them.

"Children and young people need to feel they can tell somebody if this is happening. Parents need to ask them how they feel about it, and what they want them to do.

"Children are often concerned that if they tell adults, they'll do the wrong thing. They have to be confident that their views about what's happening will be heard and respected."

Visit www.anti-bullyingalliance.org.uk

11:51am Monday 17th March 2008

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