Everyone has the right to feel happy and safe. But not everyone does.

All bullying is wrong, but bullying because of prejudice is especially horrible and we all need to work together to stop it. Prejudice-driven bullying is bullying that happens because people make judgements about someone without really knowing them. There are different things that people have prejudices about, and that means there are different types of prejudice-driven bullying. The three main kinds are:

• Racist bullying – bullying someone because of their ethnic background, nationality, religion or skin colour
• Sexist and homophobic bullying – bullying someone because of their gender or sexual orientation
• Bullying because of disability – bullying someone because they are disabled or have special educational needs

We want to make Warwickshire a county where all children and young people feel included, valued and supported, and where everyone is recognised as being positively different. To help us with this we ask you to sign the pledge against prejudice-driven bullying below.

• I promise that I will be friendly and get to know people before I decide if I like them or not
• I promise that I will not hurt or make fun of people who are different to me
• I promise that I will think about the words I use to describe people and things. For example, I will not use the word ‘gay’ when what I mean is ‘rubbish’
• I promise that I will tell an adult if someone I know is being bullied because of prejudice
• I promise that I will always remember that everyone has the right to feel happy and safe, including me

If you are a target of prejudice-driven bullying:

Remind yourself that it isn’t your fault. No one deserves to be bullied.

Try and keep a record of everything that happens – download a ‘bullying diary’ from www.warwickshire.gov.uk/bullying. Save copies of any texts or emails that you get, they can also provide good evidence of what has happened.

Tell an adult you trust like a teacher, member of your family or youth worker. If it is happening in school it is important that the school knows about it.

If there is no one near that you can tell:

• Text2talk 07786 200999 (standard charges apply)
• Email bullying@warwickshire.gov.uk
• Ring CHILDLINE on 0800 1111
• Go to www.warwickshire.gov.uk/bullying

If it is racist bullying in school, contact Warwickshire’s Education Race Equality Officer on 01926 742358.

If it is racist, sexist or disablist bullying happening outside of school, ring the Warwickshire Police’s hate crime line 0845 129 2221.

If you know someone is a target of prejudice-driven bullying, report it. If you don’t, you are making it worse