Conflict between people has existed forever, but the term [1] "bully" has only been in existence since 1693. (Thanks, Merriam Webster!) The verb bully means "to affect by means of force or coercion." And while bullying exists in other countries [2] (for instance, they call it "mobbing" in Scandanavian countries and "psychoterror" in Germany), the United States has arguably the worst problem [2] because it is not illegal in many states.

In fact, bullying wasn't viewed as a significant problem until the 1970s. Until then, many viewed bullying or being bullied as a childhood rite of passage. In 1973, Norwegian researcher Dan Olweus [3] published Agression in the Schools: Bullies and Whipping Boys. His argument that bullying was a big problem in schools paved the way for many new anti-bullying policies.

While 1 in 4 [4] students are bullied every month, schools have responded to Olweus's warnings and have created anti-bullying policies [5] to reduce the number of bullying incidents and to make students feel safer overall.

Almost every state legally requires [6] anti-bullying policies in schools (though most of these states don't require an online—aka cyberbullying—component). New Jersey has some of the most extensive bullying prevention policies—the state mandates teacher training [7] on how to handle bullying and requires the state board of education to design a model anti-bullying policy that districts can follow.

Research your state's bullying laws [8] and contact your local representative or school board if the policy does not address some of the biggest problems regarding bullying.