THE 12 TYPES OF BULLYING AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - PSYCHOLOGY - 2024

The most well-known types of harassment are school, workplace and sexual, however there are many other kinds. Harassment is a phenomenon that is characterized by the appearance of harmful behaviors and attitudes towards a person or group, usually repeatedly over time.

It usually arises as a form of discrimination, and it usually occurs in contexts in which the harasser and the harassed have to constantly interact, such as an educational center or the workplace.

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Some experts consider that there is a significant difference between harassment, which would occur in a timely manner, and bullying or mobbing, which would involve the repetition of harmful behavior over time. However, in practice the two phenomena are usually spoken of interchangeably.

There are many different types of bullying as well as different ways to classify it. They are usually divided according to where they occur or the type of attack that takes place during the attack. However, it is possible to find some divisions with totally different criteria.

Types of bullying

1- School

Bullying or bullying is one of the most common types that exist. Due to this, it is also one of the most studied, so we have a large amount of data on its effects, its causes and the different forms in which it appears.

Bullying can happen in many different ways. The most common is the one that occurs between students, but there may also be cases in which the role of harasser or victim is played by other people. Thus, on some occasions the aggressor may be an educator or a group of students.

This type of bullying is especially worrisome because the children who suffer it are still at a very vulnerable age at a psychological level. As a result, the consequences (including low self-esteem and increased risk of illnesses such as depression) can extend throughout the victim's life.

Due to this, it is essential to study how to minimize cases of bullying and the impact they have on those affected. In this sense, the most accepted proposals include educating children and teachers in tools such as empathy and assertiveness, as well as increasing vigilance to detect new cases as soon as possible.

2- Labor

Workplace bullying is very similar in all respects to school bullying, with the difference that it occurs in a work environment rather than within an educational center. Like the first type of bullying, it is generally considered one of the most harmful because those who suffer it are in constant contact with their attacker.

Workplace harassment can occur horizontally (between people with a job and similar responsibility) or vertically (from a boss to a subordinate or vice versa). At the same time, the victim can be attacked by a single aggressor or by several, each of the subtypes having different consequences and effects.

This type of harassment is a very frequent problem in developed countries, and its consequences can be devastating both for workers and for the very companies in which they carry out their professional work. Due to this, more and more emphasis is being placed on preventing and solving cases that exist before their effects can be very serious.

3- Sexual

One of the types of harassment that generates the most social alarm is sexual. This subtype is characterized by the presence of unwanted or inappropriate proposals by the aggressor as a reward for a certain sexual behavior carried out by the victim. Normally this type of harassment occurs between people with a different social status, being the one who has more power who usually uses it.

Sexual harassment can occur in all kinds of contexts, from the work environment to the home, circles of friends or even on the street. Both the aggressors and the victims can be men or women, although there are some more common combinations than others.

Generally, however, sexual harassment is much more penalized in some contexts than in others. Thus, the fact that a person says a compliment to another on the street may not be a crime, but the proposal of a promotion in exchange for sexual favors at work can carry severe prison sentences for the aggressor.

4- Discriminatory

Discriminatory harassment is one in which a person or group shows hostile or denigrating behavior towards an individual due to one of their personal characteristics. Generally, discrimination occurs based on factors such as sex, race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or political ideas.

As with sexual harassment, discrimination can occur in many different contexts, although it is more common in situations in which the victim and the aggressor have prolonged and mandatory contact. However, situations derived from this type of harassment also appear in specific situations, such as at a party or in the middle of the street.

Discriminatory harassment is generally directed at people belonging to vulnerable minorities, such as disabled individuals, homosexuals, or people with an ethnicity other than the majority in a place. However, this does not always have to be the case, and the combinations of assailant and victim types are almost endless.

5- Power

Power harassment is one of the types with the most serious consequences. It is based on the abuse of elements such as authority or physical or social power by the aggressor to intimidate or attack the victim. This can happen instrumentally (to achieve something) or for no other reason than to do harm.

This type of bullying is especially damaging because the victim is often powerless to protect herself from it. In a work context, for example, a worker does not usually have the necessary tools to defend himself against an attempted harassment by his superior, which can lead to a very negative situation.

6- Physical

Among the types of harassment that exist, physical is one that is based on intimidating and aggressive behaviors in which real violence appears between the victim and the attacker. This type of harassment can have extremely serious consequences, with the death of the victim being a very real possibility in some cases.

In most cases, physical harassment involves only "minor" violent behavior, such as pushing or tripping. In other situations, however, aggressors may use violence to a greater extent, hitting the victim and causing serious physical and psychological harm.

7- Psychological

The other side of the coin of physical bullying is psychological. In this type of aggression, the victim does not suffer any bodily harm from the attacker. However, the aggressor uses tactics such as humiliation, name calling or manipulation to cause mental damage.

Psychological harassment has the peculiarity that it is one of the most difficult to detect. On many occasions the victim herself is not aware of what is happening, since the image that most people have about bullying implies physical attacks and not only the use of emotional or psychological violence.

However, the consequences of this type of bullying can also be very serious, since it is one of the most likely to cause disorders such as depression or social anxiety in victims. In some cases, in addition, this type of aggression occurs in conjunction with other purely physical ones, which makes the situation even more complicated.

8- Online

Internet bullying is one of the most recent types of appearance, but in a few years it has also become one of the most prevalent. Its main characteristic is that attack situations occur through the network, generally using social networks as a medium.

In online bullying, bullies use tools quite different from those of other more traditional types. For example, in this context there can be identity theft, humiliation campaigns through the Internet, and other situations in which the damage is mainly psychological, emotional and social.

Due to the importance of new technologies in the lives of many people, especially the youngest, online bullying can have very serious consequences for those individuals who suffer it.

9- Verbal

The last of the types of harassment that we will see in this list is verbal. Its main characteristic is that it only uses words to harm another person, contrary to what happens in other contexts such as physical aggression.

Verbal harassment is usually included in other broader groups such as psychological harassment or online assaults. However, some experts consider that this classification should be studied separately since it has some characteristics that differentiate it from the rest.

10- sexual harassment Quid Pro Quo

Quid pro quo means "something for something." In this case, it would be to obtain a benefit in exchange for sex. It usually occurs in work environments, in which a person with power offers to improve the situation of a subordinate (promotion, more salary) in exchange for some sexual exchange.

Simply the proposal is already a type of harassment, but the biggest problem is generated when the subordinate does not accept the offer. At that time, the supervisor can create a climate of hostility and abuse, with consequences such as reduction of salary, demotion or even dismissal.

11- Police

It is applied to the different security forces of a State (regional, national police, armies…) and is based on bad behavior when exercising their functions as a law enforcement officer. Humiliation, blackmail, use of excessive force or threats are some of the bad arts that can be exercised on a person or group.

12- Real Estate

Also known as 'real estate mobbing' or 'blockbusting', this type of harassment is intended to harass a person or family so that they cannot exercise their right to housing.

The harasser is usually the owner or landlord of the home, which generates a climate of hostility in its tenants so that they are forced to leave the home. That is, it seeks the eviction of the tenant / s.

References

1. "The different types of harassment in the workplace" in: The Balance Careers. Retrieved on: March 04, 2020 from The Balance Careers: thebalancecareers.com.
2. "11 Types of Workplace Harassment (and How to Stop Them)" in: I - Sight. Retrieved on: March 04, 2020 from I - Sight: i-sight.com.
3. "Understanding different types of harassment" in: FindLaw. Retrieved on: March 04, 2020 from FindLaw: employment.findlaw.com.
4. "7 Most Common Types of Workplace Harassment" in: Incubate. Retrieved on: March 04, 2020 from Incubar: incubar.net.
5. "Harassment" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: March 04, 2020 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.