Today is Pink Shirt Day in Canada, a campaign to stop bullying.  

In 2007, this day was started by 2 young students in Nova Scotia in support of a classmate who wore a pink shirt to the first day of school and consequently suffered physical and verbal abuse. 

Put An End to Bullying

Since that time the anti-bullying campaign has spread across Canada.

Every minute of every day, someone is bullied somewhere in the world.  This act is not limited to children and young adults, as it also encompasses the adult population as well. 

The end result of bullying can be catastrophic!  Nearly every day we hear of a young people taking their own lives because they have been a victim.  Bullying leads to depression, anxiety, withdrawal from family and friends, physical illness and low-self esteem.

Did you know that over 3.2 million students are bullied every year?

1 in 4 teachers see nothing wrong with bullying and will only intervene 4 percent of the time. 

1 in 7 students from K-12 are either bullied or are bullies.

71 percent of students report incidents of bullying as a problem at their school.

You can find more information at http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-school-bullying

Bullying takes many forms, it ranges from verbal abuse, to physical abuse to cyber bullying.  Cyber bullying is the least likely to be reported and it is very hard to stop.  Only 50% of cyber bullying is reported.

So what can we do about bullying?

As parents, teachers, and other authority figures in our children’s lives, we have an obligation to be aware of what bullying looks like and be there to intervene where necessary.  It is shown, where there is less interaction between children and their parents, teachers and others that bullying tends to fester at a faster rate.

Awareness campaigns have started in many locations around Canada.  A large number of schools have started anti-bullying internet sites where students can anonymously report acts of intimidation, harassment, terrorizing, and discrimination whether it has happened to them or they have seen it

A child needs to know that they can report these harassment acts  safely to a teacher, to a parent or other authority figures and that these people will respect and listen to them and of course, it needs to be without blame.

In the end, it’s about respect, kindness and the caring of others.

Wear your pink shirt today to support the efforts to stop bullying.

Stop Bullying

 We can all do something!