A social media campaign was launched on Monday to encourage victims and friends of victims to speak out against bullying.

Spearheaded by local voluntary society, the Coalition Against Bullying for Children and Youth (CABCY), it features a 1 1/2-minute-long animated video of a bully victim going through psychological and emotional torment. The video on www.shareittoendit.com will get shorter the more shares it gets as a symbol of ending the suffering and misery of the victim.

The aim is to hit 100,000 shares on Facebook as soon as possible, with just the last video frame standing, said Ms Esther Ng, president and founder of the coalition. The video will also lead people to CABCY's website where victims, families and educators can tap on resources such as e-counselling services.

Said Ms Ng: "We need to break the silence on bullying in Singapore. Victims are typically afraid or embarrassed to talk about it."

CABCY was set up in 2005 to help children, youths and adults recognise the different forms of bullying, its effects on victims and what can be done to help reduce or prevent bullying.

The campaign was created by marketing communications company JWT Singapore and digital agency XM Asia as part of their annual community social responsibility effort. It comes as the Protection from Harassment Bill was passed in March. In 2006, a CABCY survey of 4,000 primary and secondary school students found that one in eight students were bullied at least once a week and one in four had experienced cyber bullying at least once in their lives.