Anti-bullying and harassment procedure

How to respond to bullying and harassment

Page last updated 2 April 2025.
See change log for recent updates to this webpage.

This procedure explains how to apply our anti-bullying and harassment policy, and how and when to make a report.

This procedure is for volunteers. Girlguiding employees must use the staff procedure on the intranet.

Recognising bullying and harassment

It's not always easy to spot bullying and harassment and we don't expect you to be an expert in recognising it. If you’ve seen or experienced behaviour that makes you feel uncomfortable, but you’re not sure if it amounts to bullying or harassment, please get in touch for help.

Bullying can take many forms and can be:

  • Physical.
  • Verbal (for example, name-calling, teasing or making threats).
  • Face-to-face or online. A person can be bullied online and offline at the same time.

It’s usually behaviour that’s repeated and deliberate.

Harassment is usually behaviour that’s:

  • Offensive.
  • Intrusive.
  • Intimidating.
  • Repeated (although a single incident can amount to harassment if serious).

It can take many forms and can be:

  • Physical (for example, touch or intrusion of personal space).
  • Verbal (for example, jokes or unnecessary references intended to offend).

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Let us know about bullying or harassment

If you think bullying or harassment is happening, you must let us know. 

If your concern is about bullying or harassment directed at a child, you must report this using the safeguarding policy and procedure.

To report bullying or harassment directed at a volunteer, get in touch with the complaints and compliance team at [email protected].

You don’t need all the facts before emailing, but giving as much information as possible will help the team to fully understand your concerns.

You could include: 

  • When and where the event(s) took place.
  • How often it took place.
  • Whether it’s ongoing.
  • Who was involved (including membership numbers and full names, if you have them), how they were involved, and whether you’re in contact with them.
  • Whether you’ve reported your concerns to anyone else, and if so, what action was taken. 

If you don’t feel comfortable or confident putting your concerns into writing, you can send the team an email asking for a call back and someone will get in touch. 

If you’ve reported an incident that you witnessed, but weren't involved in, we might need to get consent from the person experiencing the bullying or harassment before Girlguiding can look into it.

Once the complaints and compliance team have received your email, they’ll be in touch to get more information and give details about what will happen next.

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What about inappropriate behaviour that doesn’t fit the definition of bullying or harassment?

Some conflict you see or experience won't fit the definitions of bullying or harassment, for example, if it's accidental or unintentional.

This kind of conflict is known as relational conflict. It can be sparked by a clash of personalities or by a build-up of incidents that cause tension. It can be distressing for those involved, but in a lot of cases relational conflict can be resolved locally, with active listening and honest conversation.

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Responding to relational conflict between young members in my unit

We expect young members’ behaviour to be in line with Girlguiding’s values, promise and laws.

If young members behave inappropriately:

  • Take a look at our guidance on behaviour that challenges.
  • The unit leadership team must work with them and their parents or carers to try to resolve the issues. Your commissioner will be able to support you to manage the situation and help you talk to the parents or carers.
  • You could book a session with a peer educator on Think Resilient or Safe the World.
  • You could run a unit meeting focused on bullying or being kind to others. There’s lots of unit meeting activities (we've listed some on this page) which look at working together and supporting others.
  • You could review or put together a code of conduct or unit guidelines with young members so they understand what’s expected of them and learn to take responsibility for their actions.
  • You must make a report to the safeguarding team if you’re concerned about the wellbeing of those involved.

As a last resort, ongoing inappropriate behaviour could result in the young member being asked to leave the unit. If you think this might be necessary, you must discuss it with your commissioner, and follow the steps in our young members procedure.

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Responding to relational conflict between adult volunteers

We expect adult volunteers to follow our code of conduct and treat everyone with respect.

If you see or experience relational conflict with other adult volunteers, let your commissioner know so that they can help to manage the situation with active listening and honest conversations.

If it's not possible to manage the conflict locally, or you've not been able to resolve it successfully, you can raise a complaint with the complaints and compliance team. They'll look at the concern under the complaints policy.

If you have a concern about bullying or harassment, we understand that it can be difficult to report it, especially if you know someone who’s involved. But if you see it, you must report this to the complaints and compliance team.

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Responding to bullying or harassment from a parent or carer

Volunteers and young members should feel safe and valued as part of the Girlguiding community. They shouldn't be subjected to bullying or harassment from anyone involved with Girlguiding, including parents and carers. If a young member is being bullied or harassed by a parent or carer, you must report this to the safeguarding team. If a volunteer is being bullied or harassed by a parent or carer, you must report this to the complaints and compliance team. Sometimes, a parent or carer's behaviour might be inappropriate without fitting the definitions of bullying or harassment. You can manage this locally with support from your commissioner following the steps in the young members procedure.

As a last resort, inappropriate behaviour by parents or carers can lead to the young person in their care being asked to leave the unit. If you think this might be necessary, you must discuss it with your commissioner and follow the steps in our young members procedure. 

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What if the bullying is taking place outside of Girlguiding by a non-Girlguiding member? 

If a young member or adult volunteer shares that they’re being bullied outside of Girlguiding, it can be difficult to know how to help.

Although you may not be able to take any action against the bully, being there as a safe person to talk to can help the girl or adult to feel less alone. Girlguiding can be a safe space for them to feel comfortable and to help build their confidence.

If a young person has shared that they're being bullied:

  • You must make their parent or carer aware so they can support their child and take action. For example, by suggesting the parent or carer speak to the school if that’s where the bullying is taking place. 
  • If the young person is finding it difficult to speak to their parent or carer, you could offer to do this for them, or be there when they do.
  • If the parent or carer already knows about the bullying, you might still want to let them know what their child shared with you and offer your support. There are lots of organisations you can suggest that can give support and advice to both young people and adults. You can find some of these at the bottom of this page.
  • You must report to our safeguarding team if a young member is being bullied by an adult. Especially one in a position of trust, such as a teacher or sports coach, or a family member.
  • You must report to our safeguarding team if you’re concerned about the wellbeing of a young person.

If an adult is experiencing bullying or harassment:

  • Encourage them to contact a specialist organisation for advice. For example, ACAS will be able to give them information if they’re being bullied or harassed at work. And specialist domestic abuse organisations will be able to support them if they're experiencing bullying as part of a relationship.
  • You must report to our safeguarding team if you're concerned about the safety or wellbeing of the adult.

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Further guidance

If you've noticed small incidents of inappropriate behaviour or relational conflict taking place in your unit, you mustn’t ignore them.

Whether it involves young people or adults, talk to them about their behaviour and why it isn’t OK. Try to do this in a non-confrontational and non-judgemental way, even if it seems like one person is in the wrong.

Some ways you could start a conversation include:

  • ‘I noticed you and Alex don’t seem to be getting on very well at the moment – is everything OK? Did something happen?’
  • ‘You looked like you were getting quite annoyed at Saira earlier – can we have a chat about it?’
  • ‘The way you spoke to Nia yesterday was not very kind. As a leader, it’s important you treat everyone with respect, even if you don’t agree with each other. If there are problems, you can talk to me about them.’

By recognising and addressing the problems, you can hopefully all work together to make sure they don’t get any bigger.

Activities for Rainbows

Activities for Brownies

Activities for Guides

Activities for Rangers:

ACAS – free human resources support and legal help for UK-based employees.

Anti-Bullying Alliance – a coalition of organisations and individuals united against bullying.

BulliesOut – a charity providing education, training and support around bullying, plus a free mentoring service via email for anyone experiencing bullying.

Childline – a free, confidential helpline for children and young people offering advice and support 24 hours a day. There's a whole section on their website about bullying issues.

Family Lives/Bullying UK - a charity providing advice and support to anyone affected by bullying.

NSPCC – the UK's leading children’s charity, providing information on child abuse.

Refuge – a charity supporting women and children who have experienced violence and abuse.

RespectMe – Scotland’s anti-bullying service.

Samaritans – a charity working to make sure there’s always someone there for people in need.

Switchboard – a confidential listening service for the LGBT+ community.

Victim Support – an independent charity for people affected by crime and traumatic events in England and Wales.

YoungMinds – the UK’s leading charity fighting for children and young people’s mental health.

Respect for All - the Scottish government’s national approach to counter bullying.

How to be mentally healthy at work - a resource published by the charity Mind.

Advice from Mind on workplace bullying.

Change log

April 2025 - updated version published. The procedure has been reformatted. A new section has been added to help you recognise when bullying and harassment might be taking place. Bullying or harassment directed at adults must be reported to the complaints and compliance team. Bullying or harassment directed at children must be reported to the safeguarding team using our safeguarding policy and procedure. Commissioners can support you to manage relational conflict locally.