Anti-Bullying Day (or Pink Shirt Day) is an annual event, held in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and other parts of the world, where people wear a pink-coloured shirt to stand against bullying. The initiative was started in Canada, where it is held on the last Wednesday of February each year. In

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, Anti-Bullying Day is celebrated in May.

History

The original event was organized in 2007 by twelfth-grade students David Shepherd and Travis Price of Berwick, Nova Scotia, who bought and distributed 50 pink shirts after a ninth-grade student Chuck McNeill was bullied for wearing a pink

polo shirt A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by Polo#Players, polo players originally in India in 1859 and in Great Britain durin ...

during the first day of school at Central Kings Rural High School in Cambridge, Nova Scotia. That year, Nova Scotia Premier

Rodney MacDonald Rodney Joseph MacDonald (born January 2, 1972) is a Canadian politician, educator and musician who served as the 26th premier of Nova Scotia from 2006 to 2009 and as MLA for the riding of Inverness in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1999 ...

proclaimed the second Thursday of September (aligning with the start of each

school year A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compul ...

) as "Stand Up Against Bullying Day" in recognition of these events. In 2008, then-

Premier of British Columbia Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...

proclaimed February 27 to be the provincial Anti-Bullying Day. In 2009, the

Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada BGC Canada (Boys & Girls Clubs of Canada) is a national, nonprofit organization that supports local Boys and Girls Clubs with programs for physical activity, healthy living, learning, job training, leadership, and creative expression. With location ...

worked on pink t-shirts that say "Bullying Stops Here." and "Pink Shirt Day" for Anti-Bullying Day. In May 2009,

celebrated its first Pink Shirt Day. In 2012, the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

declared May 4 as ''U.N. Anti-Bullying Day''. Similarly,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

declared the first Thursday of November as the ''International Day against Violence and Bullying at School Including Cyberbullying''.

Purpose

Anti-Bullying Day was instituted to prevent further bullying. The

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

showed that one out of four kids will be bullied during their adolescence.S.P. Limber, P. Cunningham, V. Florx, J. Ivey, M. Nation, S. Chai, and G. Melton, "Bullying among school children: Preliminary findings from a school-based intervention program," paper presented at the Fifth International Family Violence Research Conference, Durham, NH, June/July 1997. Most of the time it continues after the first incident; statistics show that 71 percent of students that are bullied, continue to be bullied, making it a problem with no end. According to the

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...

, a study in 2010 discovered a connection between being bullied and suicide. The term to describe this is " bullycide", wherein someone who is bullied commits suicide as a result.

Activities

Anti-Bullying Day activities can take place at schools,

workplace A workplace is a location where someone works, for their employer or themselves, a place of employment. Such a place can range from a home office to a large office building or factory. For industrialized societies, the workplace is one of th ...

s, or any

peer group In sociology, a peer group is both a social group and a primary group of people who have similar interests ( homophily), age, background, or social status. The members of this group are likely to influence the person's beliefs and behaviour. ...

location. They may include "abolishing bullying" rallies, information and networking booths to help the community in understanding the evils of bullying, and publicizing anti-discrimination organizations. Examples include Blue Shirt World Day of Bullying Prevention, National Bullying awareness month, and Pink Shirt Day. Other features include handouts, resources, and information promoting the message of the "National Day of Action Against Bullying and Violence". Examples of other activities include races, conferences, video-creating competitions such as the "ScreenIt!" and the "Back me up" competitions, and community events, all used to spread awareness of bullying and violence, The initiative seeks to support the work of students, educators, community and business in their efforts to stop bullying, discrimination, homophobia and transphobia.

References

External links

Pink Shirt Day
— The aim of CKNW Kids' Fund's Pink Shirt Day is to raise awareness of bullying in schools, workplaces, homes and online. The organisation also looks to raise funds to support programmes and facilities to foster children's health self-esteem.
Pink T-Shirt Day SocietyStomp Out Bullying
— Stomp Out Bullying is a non-profit organisation aimed to change the culture for all students both kids and teens with inclusion,. The organisation dedicated itself to eradicate bullying against all walk of life through education on racism, homophobia, LGBTQ and discrimination. The organisation provides help to those at risk of bullying and suicide though close peer mentoring, events and social media out reach programmes.
Bullying No WayErase Bullying
— Erase aims to strengthen school communities through building safer environments through empowering key figures in the community such as parents, students and educators. The organisations aims to erase, cyber-bullying whilst encouraging mental health and well-being.
Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center
— PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center was founded in 2006. The aim of the organisation was to introduce social change by preventing childhood bullying ensuring the youth are safe and in connection with the necessary support within school and communities. {{Bullying Public holidays in Canada Anti-bullying campaigns February observances May observances United Nations days Winter events in Canada Public holidays in New Zealand

History

Purpose

Activities

See also

References

External links