Bullying by email

Like bullying by text message, email provides a reasonably 'anonymous' method of communication which bullies have seized upon to harass their victims.

If being bullied by email, children should not respond to the messages, but should seek help from a teacher, parent or carer. Likewise if they receive an email message from an unknown sender, they should exercise caution over opening it, or ask an adult for assistance. Don't delete the message but keep it as evidence of bullying.

If the email is being sent from a personal email account, abuse should be reported to the sender's email service provider. Many email programs also provide facilities to block email from certain senders.

If the bullying emails continue, and the email address of the sender is not obvious, then it may be possible to track the address using special software. Your email service provider may be able to offer assistance in doing this.

In certain cases, it may be easier to change your email address, and exercise caution over who this new address is given to.

Further information about safety and email in schools can be found on this website.