Why do children bully?

I, Elizabeth, first became affected by bullying when I was bullied as a child. I couldn’t
understand why I was bullied, and why, even though some people were aware of
this, it continued to happen. I was called racist names and physically assaulted,
people used to spit in my hair, and sometimes, when I was hiding, several people
would search for me to threaten and push me. As an adult looking back, I realise that as
the bullying grew in severity, I became known and targeted as a ‘victim’.
When I later researched bullying for my undergraduate degree, the academic
literature made me feel ashamed of being a victim, particularly when I read
a description from Salmivalli et al. about ‘helpless’ and ‘provocative’ victims1. I
remembered what my experience felt like as a child: the cold sweats, being frightened
of school every day, unable to concentrate on my work. I became weak, anxious and I
could hardly eat.