Physical bullying involves physical contact with the victim to intimidate or control them, and can include non-lethal weapons. It poses a serious threat to the victim and can occur in various settings. Victims may feel helpless and injuries can provide evidence. The bully may have underlying issues that need addressing.
There are many different types of bullying, ranging from taunting and verbal abuse to outright physical assault. Physical bullying involves real physical contact between a bully and his victim, with the express purpose of intimidating or controlling the victim. This may include kicking, biting, punching, scratching or fighting the victim until she is completely subdued or unable to retaliate. This could also involve using non-lethal weapons to inflict additional damage or the threat of lethal force if the victim continues to resist or is not intimidated. However, bullying isn’t limited to the school playground. It can also occur in the workplace or even at home.
Of all forms of bullying, physical bullying poses the most immediate threat of serious injury or even death to the victim. The idea behind it is to establish the superiority of the bully and his continued control over the victim. A victim will most likely physically survive a bully’s first attack, but the perceived threat of continued or escalated violence should intimidate him or her into taking any action against the offender. This type of bullying relies heavily on the victim’s reluctance to endure another attack or do anything that would trigger a bully’s anger.
Unlike other forms of bullying, physical bullying often leaves an unmistakable trail of tangible evidence against the bully. Broken bones, bruises, cuts, or scrapes can verify that a physical assault actually took place, even if the victim is unwilling or unable to identify their attacker. An intimidated victim may dismiss injuries as accidental or work-related in order to avoid further incidents with a bully in the workplace or school playground. Physical bullying has not only an obvious physical component, but also an emotional or mental aspect. Victims may feel depressed or helpless because they have been unable to defend themselves against a bully.
Physical bullying is often difficult to distinguish from abuse or hazing. A group of adolescent males may engage in combat with one another as a social rite of passage, for example, or military recruits may use physical intimidation as a team-building exercise. Physical bullying, however, only works when the odds are strongly in the bully’s favor. A physically stronger bully must be able to take full advantage of his victim’s inability to fight back. To a bully, the victim is clearly an inferior who must be intimidated into submission or rendered harmless.
It can be difficult to deal with physical bullying, whether at home, on the school playground or in the workplace. The bully may have serious emotional or anger management issues that can only be addressed through professional counseling. A workplace bully may be transferred to another department, or a school bully may be expelled, but their bullying is unlikely to stop until the underlying reasons for the destructive behavior are discovered and addressed therapeutically. .
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
