The Post Primary Teachers' Association says by wearing pink today, New Zealanders will be asserting that bullying in schools will not be tolerated. Pink Shirt Day has spread across the globe after 50 students at a Nova Scotia high school wore pink tank tops to show their support for a classmate who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. PPTA president Kate Gainsford says wearing pink today is more than a symbolic gesture. "For a bully to be successful all people have to do, is do nothing. It is important that people are not passive when they notice bullying going on," she says. Gainsford said the best way of dealing with bullying is as early and informally as possible, before the bullying behaviour escalates into something more serious. "It is about numbers of people taking responsibility for the way others are treated," she says. "Events like Pink Shirt Day are an important way to encourage people to recognise there is a problem and take steps towards addressing it." Rainbow Youth executive director Tom Hamilton says the most powerful thing about Pink Shirt Day is that it is about getting the teenagers themselves involved in offering peer-to-peer support. He says students finding solidarity in their peer group may be a better approach than having to go to someone in some sort of hierarchy, which automatically highlights them and isolates them. "Within your peer group, any kind of conflict that you can resolve is always going to be more successful," he says. "It's about trying to find ways for young people to help each other. And we need schools supporting that, from the school boards, to the teachers, to the students themselves -everyone's responsible for each other's safety." Rainbow Youth will today have a stall outside their Karangahape Rd drop-in centre in Auckland to raise awareness of Pink Shirt Day. They welcome volunteers. For more information go to www.pinkshirtday.org.nz We want pictures of you and your friends in pink shirts! Send them to gaynz@woosh.co.nz
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 28th April 2010 - 9:03am