Bullying is direct or indirect discrimination towards another person, whether it be for their colour, looks, personality, disability or even as far as sexual identification or preference. The act of bullying has been around since the dawn of man, however in the past few years, there has been conflict over whether the act of bullying should be considered an offence, especially due to the unsurprising and intrinsic evolution of technology, since the dawn of cyberbullying, which is “the use of electronic communication to bully a person, typically by sending messages of an intimidating or threatening nature.”. Cyberbullying may not be as fierce or upfront, however it can impact persons just the same. Today the question lies, should bullying merely
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However, when schools can’t provide help or prevent bullying, there are legal procedures you can follow as it is a crime if someone: gets physically violent towards you; intimidates or threatens you; stalks you (stalking includes following, watching or contacting you repeatedly in a way that scares you); damages or steals your things; harasses you because of your race, gender identity, sexual preference, HIV/AIDS status or disability, which are all seen in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991. One of the most prevalent court cases in Australia discussing bullying is a case documented by the Australian Broadcasting Association in November of 2016, encompassing bullying within the workplace. The case, which was knocked back by the high court and sent back to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, surrounded a former ABC staffer who has expressed that her manager was bullying her in the workplace, claiming “she had been subjected to a “toxic atmosphere” in the broadcaster's Bureau in Renmark in South Australia's Riverland between 2010 and 2012 including being yelled at, ignored, told her work was "not good enough" and subjected to "passive aggressive" behaviour.” (Towell, N. 2016). ABC Staffer Loses High Court Bullying Case. Retrieved from
However, when schools can’t provide help or prevent bullying, there are legal procedures you can follow as it is a crime if someone: gets physically violent towards you; intimidates or threatens you; stalks you (stalking includes following, watching or contacting you repeatedly in a way that scares you); damages or steals your things; harasses you because of your race, gender identity, sexual preference, HIV/AIDS status or disability, which are all seen in the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991. One of the most prevalent court cases in Australia discussing bullying is a case documented by the Australian Broadcasting Association in November of 2016, encompassing bullying within the workplace. The case, which was knocked back by the high court and sent back to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, surrounded a former ABC staffer who has expressed that her manager was bullying her in the workplace, claiming “she had been subjected to a “toxic atmosphere” in the broadcaster's Bureau in Renmark in South Australia's Riverland between 2010 and 2012 including being yelled at, ignored, told her work was "not good enough" and subjected to "passive aggressive" behaviour.” (Towell, N. 2016). ABC Staffer Loses High Court Bullying Case. Retrieved from