I’m so glad to hear that you want to help your friend and it’s great that your friend trusts you enough to tell you about his problem. It is very common for students to be scared of reporting the bullying they see or experience; students doing the bullying can get mad at those who report it because these students often end up getting in trouble. I can see that your friend may have a good reason to believe that the student bullying him may seek ‘revenge’ on him. Luckily, though, there are many things your friend can do.

Your friend can report the bullying in such a way that the student bullying him does not know who told on him. For example, your friend may seek out a trusted adult in the school to talk to at a time when the student bullying him is not around, such as before or after a class or school, during lunch or another free period, etc. Your friend may also be able to talk to trusted adults outside of school when the student bullying him is less likely to be around. That way, the student bullying him can be stopped by adults without even knowing that your friend was responsible for ‘getting him in trouble.’

It is also helpful for students to report bullying when they are in a group. If your friend has trusted friends in his school, he may feel comfortable asking if one or more of these friends if they might be willing to report the bullying together and even to stick together at times when your friend is most likely to be bullied. The saying ‘safety in numbers’ can be very true!

I hope these ideas help your friend to feel that he is able to safely report the bullying he is experiencing. With support from trusted adults and friends like you, I am confident that your friend can take steps to protect himself from being bullied without risking making the bullying worse!