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Advice@cardiff.ac.uk Advice@caerdydd.ac.uk
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Bullying and Harassment

There is no legal definition of bullying, but it is usually considered a repeated behaviour which is intended to hurt another individual. Complainants often define bullying as something that is unwelcome, unwarranted, targeted, persistent and which has a detrimental effect.

Bullying may include repeated occurrences of the following behaviour or actions targeted at individuals or groups.

If you are being bullied because of your:

race
religion
gender
sexual orientation
physical aspect

this may be considered as discriminatory behaviour. In extreme cases, prejudice-motivated bullying may be considered a hate crime and an individual responsible for perpetrating hate crime may be prosecuted by the local authorities.

To report Hate Crime or if bullying behaviour means you are in danger call 999 or 101 in a non-emergency.

Bullying and harassment are never okay and there is support available to you.

Report and Supprt

Report and Support is an online tool for students to report incidents of violence, abuse, threats, hate crime and mental health concerns. It can also be used by staff and members of the public to report on behalf of or in relation to Cardiff University students.

Users can choose to make a report anonymously or give details about themselves. There is also an option to report on behalf of someone else.

You can access the Report and Support tool here.

Please note that Report and Support is available to help students access support. If you are looking to submit a complaint about a student or staff member, you will need to do so through the University's Student Complaints Procedure.

Responsibility for responding to and providing support to those who use the Report and Support tool will sit in the Student Support Intervention TeamStudent Support Intervention Team. This new team combines two existing teams: the Disclosure Response team and the Student Intervention team.

FAQs

How can Student Advice help me?

Student Advice are independent of the University and our role is to give you impartial advice and guidance to help you understand the options available to you. We will talk to you about your situation and offer advice tailored to your needs so please contact us using the contact details at the bottom of this webpage.

What is Report and Support?

Users can choose to make a report anonymously or give details about themselves. There is also an option to report on behalf of someone else. You can access the Report and Support tool here: https://reportandsupport.cardiff.ac.uk/.

If you feel that you or the person concerned requires immediate support, please access the emergency services NOT the Report and Support process.

It is your choice whether you tell someone about your experiences. However, it is important to know that the University can support you.

What is bullying?

Complainants often define bullying as something that is unwelcome, unwarranted, targeted, persistent and which has a detrimental effect. Bullying may include repeated occurrences of the following behaviour or actions targeted at individuals or groups.

This may include:

Aggressive, intimidating or threatening behaviour.
Overbearing and intimidating levels of supervision.
Unfair allocation of work and responsibilities or setting unreasonable goals or targets in study or work.
Preventing an individual progressing by intentionally blocking promotions or training opportunities, unjustifiably restricting choice of study options or access to tuition.
Excessive and/or unreasonable criticism or fault-finding of any colleague or peer.
Ignoring, excluding or marginalising someone.
Humiliation or ridicule, whether about work or personal matters.
Spreading rumours or gossip about someone in order to discredit them.
Using malicious or insulting language.
Invading personal space, shoving, blocking or barring the way.

What is Cyber bullying?

Cyber bullying is increasingly common as more people create and maintain online identities either through social media, gaming, or online forums. Cyber bullying is where someone initiates or suffers abuse through an online platform. This can be very scary and malicious as it is often easier for a perpetrator to bully others anonymously with little or no repercussion for their actions.

There are a number of behaviours that are considered as cyber bullying and we have listed some below for you to be aware of:

Harassment – the sending of deliberately offensive or abusive messages.
Denigration – circulating false and damaging information about another individual and/or spreading edited and improper images of an individual without their knowledge and consent.
Flaming – Purposefully using extreme language online and contributing to online arguments with a view to sparking emotional reactions from others.
Impersonation – Hacking into someone else’s account or profile to post as them without their permission or consent.
Outing and trickery – Sharing other people’s personal information online.
Cyber stalking – Repeatedly sending threatening or intimidating messages through an online platform to a single individual or group of individuals.
Exclusion – Leaving out (a) certain individual(s) from a chat, conversation or page with a view to excluding them from a social group.

How can I Support someone who is being bullied?

The support that you are able to provide may vary depending on your relationship with them, the type of bullying they are experiencing, and the impact that it is having on them.

Some of the ways that you may be able to help include:

Call 999 - If you witness physical abuse which is causing physical harm to an individual and requires urgent attention you should report the incident to the emergency services.t
Provide pastoral support – It can be very difficult for a victim of bullying to reach out for support. If you notice that someone is a recipient of bullying behaviour, they may appreciate talking to someone who has noticed and understood the situation.
Supporting a victim of bullying online – In order to address cyber bullying, and to limit the impact and scope that these comments have on other members of the public, you can report comments, posts and images, that may be considered offensive. Although this may not always lead to the removal of offensive items, your actions may help to support others.

How should I go about getting help?

The people/teams within the University Community that can help include:

Student Advice - we can help you understand your options and support you to engage with support
Your Personal Tutor, Supervisor, Head of School or other member of School staff
Student support services such as the Student Support Intervention Team
The Residence Life Team if you are living in University owned Residences
The University Chaplaincy

If you feel that your mental health and wellbeing is affected you could reach out to the Counselling and Wellbeing Service.

Is bullying ever combatted with Disciplinary action?

The University states; “We aim to promote a working, learning, and research environment and culture, in which differences are welcomed, and harassment and bullying are known to be unacceptable”

There are various procedures that could be triggered through an allegation of bullying, although this will depend on the individual. For advice and guidance on what procedures may be triggered, please reach out to Student Advice.

If you are reported for bullying, this may lead to disciplinary action. It is important to be aware of what the University expects of you in terms of conduct because, if your behaviour is deemed to breach requirements, you could be investigated under the Student Conduct Procedure.

If your behaviour is reported to the police or the local authorities, they may also choose to investigate the allegation. Depending on the severity of the matter, this may contribute to an investigation of your behaviour under the Student Conduct Procedure, and if you are on a Professional Registration Course, an investigation under the Fitness to Practise procedure.

Contact Student Advice

Advice@cardiff.ac.uk
+44 (0)2920 781410

Last updated: 31 Jul 2025 14:53