Pink Shirt Day began, accidentally, in Nova Scotia
Now a movement celebrated across the globe, Pink Shirt Day has humble beginnings. Inspired by an act of kindness in smalltown Nova Scotia, CKNW Kids’ Fund, working with partners Boys & Girls Clubs, was inspired to raise funds to support anti-bullying programs.
After teenagers David Shepherd and Travis Price’s act of kindness in 2007, CKNW was inspired to help other youth affected by bullying, with many staff members wearing pink shirts and collecting funds to support Boys and Girls Clubs.
Since then, the idea has only grown each year, with worldwide support and participation. Countries across the globe are now organizing anti-bullying fundraisers of their own, including Japan, New Zealand, China, Panama, and numerous others. People in almost 180 countries now share their support of Pink Shirt Day through social media and donations.
What is bullying?
Bullying is a form of aggression where there is a power imbalance; the person doing the bullying has power over the person being victimized.
In addition to any physical trauma incurred, bullying can result in serious emotional problems, including anxiety, low self-esteem, or depression.
Types of bullying
• Physical bullying: using physical force or aggression against another person (e.g., hitting)
• Verbal bullying: using words to verbally attack someone (e.g., name-calling)
• Social/relational bullying: trying to hurt someone through excluding them, spreading rumours or ignoring them (e.g., gossiping)
• Cyberbullying: using electronic media to threaten, embarrass, intimidate, or exclude someone, or to damage their reputation (e.g., sending threatening text messages).
Bullying vs harassment
Bullying and harassment are similar, yet different:
• Harassment is similar to bullying because someone hurts another person through cruel, offensive and insulting behaviours.
• Harassment is different from bullying in that it is a form of discrimination.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination is treating someone differently or poorly based on certain characteristics or differences. Bullying turns into harassment when the behaviour goes against Canada’s Human Rights Laws and focuses on treating people differently because of:
• Age
• Race (skin colour, facial features)
• Ethnicity (culture, where they live, how they live, how they dress)
• Religion (religious beliefs)
• Sexual orientation and gender identity (if they are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or heterosexual)
• Family status (if they are from a single parent family, adopted family, step family, foster family, non-biological gay or lesbian parent family)
• Marital status (if they are single, legally married, common-law spouse, widowed, or divorced)
• Physical and mental disability (if they have a mental illness, learning disability, use a wheelchair)
To learn more about Pink Shirt Day, how you can help, or to donate to the cause visit: pinkshirtday.ca/about
Students across the Central Okanagan will be colouring themselves pink today as reminder to be kind to one another.
As the age of social media marches on, the emphasis for Pink Shirt Day 2024 will continue to be digital wellbeing, according to Al Lalonde, assistant superintendent at Central Okanagan School District 23.
“We live in a time when technology has become a bigger part of all of our lives,” Lalonde said.
Older readers may remember bullying would involve hazing and perhaps violence in high school. Nowadays kids have to worry about things like cyberstalkers, getting impersonated, getting catfished, having their public photos manipulated, having their private images redistributed, and numerous other methods of online harassment.
That’s why social and emotional learning have become embedded into the entire curriculum, Lalonde said.
“At the Central Okanagan School District we put a lot of time and energy into it. We look at behaviour as a form of communication and we’ve really focused on learning emotional, and how we respond to difficult situations through a teaching lens.”
When dealing with bullying or conflicts between students, he said administrators usually find a resolution without resorting to suspension.
One factor beyond the District’s control is the advent of Artificial Intelligence, which is leading to more sophisticated scams and hoaxes. So students are taught how to stay sharp as they navigate online communities where danger may lurking.
Lalonde said the District’s teachers model healthy forms of communication every day. He doesn’t notice bullying to be an issue among faculty members.
“I think we get along really well,” he said. “Of course, like all organizations we have a policy around respectful workplace.”