It is Pink Shirt Day in Canada today (Wednesday), a day to recognize the stand against bullying across the country.
“It’s a movement that began in 2007 when students wore pink shirts to support a classmate who was bullied for wearing the colour pink to school,” said Northern Society for Domestic Peace Violence is Preventable Program Co-Organizer Shay Cardinal.
She believes bullying continues to be an issue both in schools and online with the rise of social media.
Some effects bullying can have on especially youth include:
- Causing insecurities
- Not wanting to attend school
- Impacting how they take care of themself
- Lowering self-esteem
- Negatively impacting relationships
- And more
“It definitely does have a huge impact on kids and their development and it’s super important to talk about it when it does happen,” said Cardinal.
She added several things can lead to someone bullying another including events happening at home.
Cardinal said if someone does see bullying, several things can be done.
“You can always tell kids who bully to stop, having safe boundaries, telling a safe person like your parents, teacher, principal, or another peer, being kind to the person being bullied,” she said.
Standing up on behalf of the person being bullied and having respect for others were also recommended.
Bullying can also be reported here or by calling the Kids Help Line at 1-800-668-6868.
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