FROM primary schools and colleges to families and the workplace, bullying knows no boundaries. BEN LEO explores the consequences of bullying and speaks to those directly affected by it as part of Anti-Bullying Week, which concludes today.

IT is defined as the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group, where the relationship involves an imbalance of power.

And it affects schoolchildren, adults, the disabled and the ‘different’. From simply having the ‘wrong’ hair or skin colour to wearing the ‘wrong’ clothes or saying the ‘wrong’ things, tens of thousands of people are bullied each year across the country – including nearly six schoolchildren every day in Brighton and Hove.

It is not only hurtful but can sometimes have lifelong consequences for both victim and perpetrator.

A national campaign that has been running this week defiantly states: ‘let’s stop bullying for all’.

Anti-bullying week, which started on Monday, focuses this year on bullying against those with disabilities or special needs.

Organised by the Anti-Bullying Alliance, a coalition of organisations and individuals working to rid the world of bullying, the annual event works with the government, charities, schools and the media to educate the masses about one of humanity’s most shameful traits.

Latest available statistics from the 2012/13 academic year show 1,087 instances of bullying at schools across Brighton and Hove – an average of 5.7 every day at school – were reported to Brighton and Hove City Council.

Almost a fifth of incidents were racially motivated, with 118 of them being reported in primary schools and 96 in secondary schools.

Primary schools reported 13 pupils were taunted because of their religion, 13 due to disabilities or medical reasons and a shocking 71 for sexual orientation.

Secondary schoolchildren were far more likely to be picked on for their appearance and medical reasons than younger children, the figures revealed.

But bullying does not just always begin and end in the playground. One Brighton woman lost a very close family friend after she was bullied at school, in the community and online.

Blogger Maddie Sinclair, from Hollingdean, Brighton, is the face behind the Love for Izzy Dix campaign – a group she started after the death of the 14-year-old bullying victim.

Maddie said: “Izzy took her own life in September 2013 after about a two-year period of abuse.

“She would get bullied on a website called Ask FM, which is designed for people to go online and ask questions and receive responses from anonymous people.

“But it became a platform for bullies – people would go on there and leave anonymous messages and taunt her.

“She was also bullied at school and in the community. She worked at a charity shop and the girls who bullied her would find her there and taunt her.

“Her mum, Gabbi, did everything by the book, she contacted the school and the school made arrangements so that the girls who bullied Izzy would not be in any of her classes.

“But the day before she took her own life she was walked into her Spanish class and found the very girls who taunted her sitting there, and so it started again.”

Izzy spoke to her headmaster the following day but was told to “go away and set up a lunch time club for children who were being bullied”.

Maddie said: “It wasn’t the right response. Maybe once Izzy had overcome her own troubles with the bullies could she then offer words of advice to others, but she was asking for help and didn’t get it.

“She later acted hastily and to the agony of those who loved her she took her own life.”

When asked what she thought of campaigns like Anti-bullying Week, Maddie said: “Teenage boys and girls are fragile and you never know how bullying is affecting them. Campaigns like this are fantastic.

“Anything that helps parents and people know how bad bullying can be is really necessary.

“In Izzy’s case she was the direct target of the bullies but now her mum has lost her only child and for a while her life completely disappeared.”

Maddie and Izzy’s mum, Gabbi, set up a petition against the then Latvian-owned Ask.FM website after 15 other teenagers from around the world died following cases of bullying.

The petition collected more than 140,000 signatures and was due to be sent to the House of Commons for debate. However, the website was taken over by new American owners and, sparked by a wave of bad press, Maddie received a phone call from the firm’s new CEO Doug Leeds.

Maddie said: “He personally wanted to let us know all the things they’re doing to tackle bullying on Ask.fm. Initiatives like investing millions in moderation, committing to responding to bullying allegations in 24 hours and educating users and parents about their platform.

“Izzy always said she wanted to change the world. Gabbi and I set up the ‘Love for Izzy Dix’ campaign as a way of making this happen on her behalf – and it looks like she’s finally doing it.”

Sadly Izzy’s case is not an isolated one. In April this year the father of a schoolboy who hanged himself after being relentlessly bullied on the school bus called for urgent support for young victims.

Paul Vodden’s 11-year-old son Ben, a pupil at Tanbridge House School, Horsham, suffered name calling, gesturing and swearing on school bus journeys – even from the driver.

The abuse became too much to bear for Ben and he hanged himself in his bedroom in December 2006.

But while most bullying is normally associated with schoolchildren, teachers themselves are being warned they too could become victims if they befriend their pupils on social media.

Friend requests On Monday the Department for Education (DoE) cautioned teachers against accepting friend requests on Facebook from current or former pupils or risk having derogatory comments posted about them – from both parents and children.

The advice followed research from the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Teachers that showed more than one in five teachers had been victim to online bullying from current or former pupils.

Education secretary Nick Morgan said: “We all know the dangers children face from online bullies – but we sometimes forget that teachers are not immune from abuse which impacts on them professionally and personally.

“It’s vital that all our teachers feel able to do their jobs properly, including being able to take a firm stance on poor behaviour. To do that they need to know their school will take action against online harassment and abuse.”

Brian Lightman, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said new technology and wider access to the internet was bringing new opportunities for cyber bullying.

Teachers are now being urged to search for their own names on the internet so they can scan for any negative comments about them.

But thanks to awareness campaigns like anti-bullying week, government figures show bullying is on the decline. A survey of Year 9 pupils by the DoE showed about 30,000 fewer pupils claimed they had been bullied during the past year compared to a 2004 survey. In addition, 10,000 fewer pupils reported being bullied every day – down 2%.

For more information about the Love Izzy Dix campaign and other bullying resources visit facebook.com/IzzyDixAntiBullyingMemorialPage or follow @IzzyDixMemorial on Twitter.

News, advice and resources from Anti-Bullying Week can be found at antibullyingweek.co.uk.