Are girls worse than boys when it comes to bullying? Perhaps not, but a report by Parentline Plus suggests that girls are guilt of a kind of social, rather than physical bullying and that such tactics are on the increase.
Research carried out by the parenting charity found that bullying by girls is becoming more underhand with a devastating effect on the victims - increasing the risks of suicide and self harm.
Rumour-spreading, writing graffiti about their victims, alienating them from their classmates and the use of email and instant messaging are all ways of bullying used by girls, alongside more traditional pursuits such as hair pulling, pushing and fighting.
The charity lists a number of techniques used by schoolgirl bullies:
Taunting, name calling, rumour spreading
Graffiti in toilets
Blanking 'skanking', exclusion, alienation of friends
Use of SMS, email, instant messaging, defamatory websites, phone calls
Taking possessions
Extortion
Threats/intimidation
Hair pulling, pushing
Fighting or other physical aggression
Does this sound familiar? And does it make the 'normal' bullying of, generally, low-level violence as used by boys seem strangely comforting?
