This year's Mr Vintage shirt New Zealanders from all walks of life are being urged to join together to show solidarity and raise awareness around bullying by wearing pink this Friday. Pink Shirt Day is a national campaign aimed to raise awareness about the power we all have to prevent bullying. The Mental Health Foundation says those who wear pink on Friday are identifying themselves as allies, showing they will stand together to stop bullying. “Pink Shirt Day isn’t about demonising bullies,” says Chief Executive Judi Clements. “It’s about bringing people together, building relationships, and starting conversations.” Schools, workplaces, and communities around New Zealand are celebrating Pink Shirt Day by having mufti-days, having a PSD shared breakfast, holding parades and expos, and inviting speakers to come into their schools and workplaces to talk about effective ways to address bullying. Angela Roberts, NZ Post Primary Teachers Association President, believes Friday will be a reminder to New Zealanders our country’s comparatively high rates of school bullying, and initiate conversations about how to change this. “If we want to have every student achieving to the best of their ability, then we have to ensure they feel safe and valued at school, in their community, and at home,” she says. Thomas Hamilton, Executive Director of Rainbow Youth says “Rainbow Youth supports PSD in order to raise awareness around the challenges of dealing effectively with homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools and workplaces.”
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 15th May 2013 - 10:18am