Pink Shirt Day - February 26, 2025
Since 2007, Pink Shirt Day or Anti-Bullying Day has been officially recognized and commemorated on the last Wednesday of February each year in Canada in order to raise awareness, stand up and take action against bullying. By wearing a pink shirt and encouraging others to do so, the support for raising awareness against bullying becomes visible and creates a space for conversations on what Pink Shirt Day is all about. For social workers and other helping professionals, this day encourages people to be inclusive, welcoming and practice random acts of kindness in order to build healthy relationships and create safe environments to prevent bullying from happening. It’s also important to believe people when they say they are being bullied and to take bullying seriously including recognizing it, calling it out and providing help and resources as well.
The Pink Shirt Day movement originated in 2007 from the local town of Berwick, Nova Scotia when a new male 9th grade student attended Central Kings Rural High School and was bullied and harassed for wearing a pink polo shirt on his first day of school. The student was called derogatory homosexual slurs and the bullies had threatened to beat him up. In response, two brave young students - David Shepherd and Travis Price - heard about this incident and decided to take action by going to a nearby discount store where they bought 75 pink shirts and tank tops to bring to school and distribute it to their classmates the next day in an act of solidarity and support with the student getting bullied. After purchasing the shirts, the students began to email their fellow classmates and asked them to join their anti-bullying cause that they referred to as a “sea of pink”. The next day, hundreds of students showed up to school wearing pink to join the cause. This made an impact on the bullied student with other students describing his reaction from his classmates as “a powerful moment”. News of this act of kindness picked up steam and received both local and international media coverage and afterwards this movement of anti-bullying activism has been celebrated annually ever since then. In 2012, the United Nations declared the Official day of Anti-Bullying on May 4, but some countries like Canada celebrate this on different dates.
Every child is born with the same rights to life, education and a safe and secure childhood in order to provide basic opportunities to help them lead into a prosperous and productive adulthood. These basic rights of opportunity and outcome are defined by the United Nations’ Convention on the Rights of the Child, established and adopted in November 1989 which guarantees “the fundamental rights of every child, regardless of gender, race, religious beliefs, income, physical attributes, geographical location or other status”.
However, many children and students worldwide experience bullying, an ongoing issue that affects many people everyday whether it is online and offline. Bullying can be defined as “repeated mean, cruel, hurtful behaviours done on purpose by someone with more power”. Bullying creates fear and threatens the safety and well-being of individuals, families and society. Bullying can take place in many different kinds of settings including school, work, online and in social and community spaces. Bullying can also affect adults, and not just children. There are 4 types of bullying: verbal, physical, social and cyber. To read more about bullying, click here.
According to a 2023 study from UNICEF, approximately 1 in 5 Canadian youth reported being bullied at least several times a month. The report also determined that regarding child well-being amongst wealthy countries, Canada ranked 23rd out of 33 countries in their rank of bullying. Countries with wide inequality also tended to have more violence and difficult relationships reported, including bullying. Another statistic from the Red Cross revealed that Canadian teachers considered cyberbullying as one of the most serious concerns among issues in school.
Signs that a child may be getting bullied can include:
Being afraid to go to school
Complain about feeling ill or sick to avoid attending school
Skipping school
Lose belongings or coming home with clothes, books or belongings destroyed
Coming home or arriving to school with unexplained bruises or cuts
Having physical symptoms like stomach pains or headaches
Having nightmares
Becoming depressed or uncertain about themselves
Becoming withdrawn or beginning to bully other children
Engaging in self-harm
Attempting or talking about suicide
If you see someone being bullied, stand up for them and call out the bully for their behaviour. Invite them into your friend group and friend them on social media.
Do not participate in bullying, including laughing at mean comments, spreading rumours, or cyberbullying.
Help the person who was bullied get help like talking to a counsellor or teacher.
Make friends with newcomers at school.
Speak up when something is not right. Others probably agree and might be afraid to say anything.
Make parents and staff at school aware of a bullying problem.
When it comes to bullying, it’s important to note that there is help available. Here are a few ideas and suggestions from several resources:
Call 911 if you are experiencing an emergency or know someone that might be in immediate danger.Call the Bullying helpline at 310-1818 or Text 310-1818 for support, information or referrals.
Call 1-800-668-6868 to speak with a professional counsellor through Kids Help Phone and access confidential and anonymous support.
Text CONNECT to 686868 to text with a volunteer crisis responder and access confidential support.
You can also visit the website for Pink Shirt Day Canada to order your 2025 Pink Shirts, learn about the project and support bullying prevention. The proceeds from the sales support WITS Programs Foundation bullying prevention and kindness initiatives as well as Indigenous community programs, through their partners at Indigenous Marketing, of the Naut’sa mawt Tribal Council.
As Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ““Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
Written by MSW practicum student, Erik Yuson
Resources and Further Readings:
CBC News - Bullied student tickled pink by schoolmates’ T-shirt campaign
Goodreads - Martin Luther King Jr. Quote
Government of Alberta - Bullying Prevention - Actions We Can Take
Government of Alberta - Bullying Prevention - Resources
Government of Alberta - Pink Shirt Day
Pink Shirt Day Canada
UNICEF Canada - On Pink Shirt Day, Take a stand against bullying
United Nations - Convention on the Rights of the Child
United Nations - Global Issues - Children
Western Financial Group - 6 Ways to stop Bullying and why you should wear pink on February 23