About Act Against Bullying

Act Against Bullying began in 2000 with research work into bullying but was established in 20003 as a registered charity to be able to provide those in need with practical advice to help children who were being bullied at school.

Bullying is a complex and insidious problem which is often very difficult to counter and yet the effects of systematic bullying on young people can be long lasting severe and life-threatening. In the UK alone it is estimated between 15 and 25 children take their lives every years as a result of this.

What is known is that bullying behaviour also causes great unhappiness not only for the victims but also for their families. While Act Against Bullying is realistic about the difficulties of achieving a bully free society we believe that if we can work to curb the excesses we can improve the quality of life for everyone.

Therefore to carry out our mission we firstly strive to raise awareness of all kinds of bullying, and more recently the modern forms such as cyber abuse and exclusion to cause to distress.

The ethos of Act Against Bullying however is upbeat and motivational. If we had a motto it would be ‘keep going’. This is in line with our vision which is to inspire young victims and their families who have often lost their faith in their current communities to carry on with their education and fulfil their potential.

At the heart of our work is the belief that consideration for others is the best anti-dote for bullying behaviour of any sort. Also that morale is essential for the psychological and even physical health of a child at school. Therefore Act Against Bullying has initiated a range of pro-social campaigns which have been supported by schools across the country as well as overseas.

It is for this reason that Act Against Bullying was invited to join the World Kindness Movement in 2005 so that we are known overseas as Act Against Bullying – UK Kindness Movement.

Act Against Bullying has a large number of friends, supporters and high profile advisors who help to raise awareness , carry out fundraising activities and do media work for us to promote the values of our organisation.

For example, we work closely with Hamish Brown MBE who is the UK’s leading stalking expert. The two subjects are closely related. We have also been consulted by overseas ministers on matters pertaining to bullying, social networking and cyberstalking.

The charity is run by a board of three trustees , two of which are managers with the HSBC. We have no paid employees and all our work is done on a voluntary basis . By helping others in the way that we do, we believe we are fulfilling our mission.

The executive work and daily tasks is done by founder trustee Louise Burfitt-Dons FRSA. She is also an international speaker and promoter of humanitarian issues. She feels that how we treat others is the basis of all global communications and that bullying of children in schools is a side effect of a deeper concern.

Louise has appeared on numerous TV and radio programmes both in the UK and overseas talking about the work of Act Against Bullying. She is the author of the original Act Against Bullying monologues, a range of anti-bullying advisory leaflets and the creative force behind the design and implementation of the charity’s campaigns.

Over the past ten years Act against Bullying has played a significant part in the lives of thousands of children worldwide.