It’s a story many Canadians may be familiar with: in 2007, two Nova Scotia high-school students watched as one of their peers. Disappointed with the situation and not wanting to let the behaviour go unchallenged, they organised a school-wide protest that same week. Through their encouragement and a distribution of pink shirts,.
Since then, Pink Shirt Day has become an annual event. Throughout the month of February, organisations across Canada come together to wear pink, symbolising a nation-wide anti-bullying movement. While the event is mainly focused in high schools, pink shirts with slogans of “Be a buddy, not a bully” and “Kindness is one size fits all” every February 23rd.
But despite its admirable grassroots beginnings, questions have been raised about . For those who are victims, not much will change in the days, weeks, and months following this event without first examining the root causes of and long-term solutions for bullying.
Root causes
Bullying can manifest in many different ways, such as when someone makes fun of someone else for wearing a pink shirt. Bullying is  and can happen verbally, physically, socially, or virtually (online). As highlighted in research done by iMPACTS’ Project Director, Dr. Shaheen Shariff, cyberbullying has had a strong impact on youth, especially with the increased use of technology and social media​​​​​​. People bully for a variety of reasons, which can involve intersecting forms of discrimination and prejudice, including those related to race, ethnicity, religion, class, gender, ability, sexual orientation, or body size. found that 62% of 2SLGBTQIA+ students feel unsafe at school compared to 11% of cisgendered, heterosexual students. Several tragic and high-profile cases of bullying in Canada have involved instances of and . According to a , over . And with the COVID-19 pandemic began, across the country.
If we revisit the event that sparked Pink Shirt Day, we see it involved a young male student being bullied for challenging traditional gender norms in how he dressed. But the reasons why people bully others can also vary. Bullies often pick on others to feel a , perhaps because other things in their lives seem out of control. There are many other reasons why people bully, including peer pressure. With this in mind, it is important to look more broadly at the contexts that contribute to bullying and allow bullying to continue in our schools.
Beyond Pink Shirts
While Pink Shirt Day helps raise awareness about the existence of bullying and how students can take action to stop bullying, more work must be done to address this issue. Without systemic change or institutional interventions, wearing a pink shirt may do little more than represent a case of , individual actions that do little to resolve the bigger problem.
Schools and communities should take more active steps to mitigate and prevent bullying, working throughout the year to address root causes of bullying and put an end to systemic violence among youth. Advocacy work from the United Kingdom suggests that anti-bullying work is more effective . Classroom activites focused on , , and can help cultivate awareness and empathy among students. School policies geared towards early intervention and restorative justice than zero-tolerance policies. It is also useful for schools to consistently review their anti-bullying policies to ensure .
We need to name and address all aspects of school bullying, . Effectively working against bullying means talking with children from an early age about positive relationships in schools. Pink Shirt Day should be seen as a starting point – one that fosters ongoing critical and intersectional discussions within schools and between educators and students. This day can serve to push society and schools toward inclusion and acceptance of all students, such that all members of the educational community (boards, administrations, parents, etc.) use Pink Shirt Day as an opportunity to reflect and renew their commitment to the safety and wellbeing of students.
Farah Roxanne Stonebanks (she/her) is a master’s student in Ă山ǿĽé's Department of Integrated Studies in Education. She holds an undergraduate degree in psychology. Her research interests include bullying behaviours, anti-bullying initiatives, and how schools can better work towards effective prevention and reaction to negative occurrences between students.
Sam Nepton (she/her) is a U3 undergraduate student studying Kindergarten and Elementary education at Ă山ǿĽé. Her research interests include sexual and gender-based violence resource toolkits for students, and the impact of social media influencers on rape culture.
