Pink Shirt Day - Bullying Prevention

Written By Center Street Psychology

Hi everyone, and thanks for reading the Center Street Psychology Blog! If you haven’t been here before, or even if you have, go ahead and click back to see some of our other posts on attachment styles, goal setting, and various mental health supports for different populations. Pink Shirt Day, a campaign in Canada to raise awareness about bullying and its effects, is coming up on February 28; so, today we’re going to discuss bullying and the impact it has on children, youth, and young adults.

Pink Shirt Day originally began when two high school students in Nova Scotia bought 50 pink t-shirts and handed them out at school to show support for another male student who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. Since then it has become an annual event where people wear pink shirts and participate in various anti-bullying/bullying awareness activities.

What is bullying? The Center for Disease Control in the US defines bullying as repeated unwanted aggressive behaviours influenced by a real or perceived power imbalance; these actions can cause social, physical, or educational harm or distress. Bullying occurs most often within a school setting but can also happen in places like recreational sports groups or online, but the biggest common factor in bullying is that it happens most when there are few adults around.

According to Stats Canada (2019), 71% of youth in Canada aged 12 to 17 reported experiencing at least one instance of bullying in the last 12 months, including social, physical, relational, and cyberbullying. There are also gender differences in bullying, with girls being more likely to be bullied while boys are more likely to be bullies. Interestingly, teasing or name-calling is the most prevalent type of bullying across all genders.

There are numerous ways in which being bullied effects students, including an increase in depression/anxiety/mood disorders, substance abuse, low self-esteem/confidence, isolation, lower grades, somatic symptoms (like stomach aches, throwing up, changes in sleep), poor attendance at school, and suicidal ideation or plans (Bowes, L., 2013). Longer-term effects of bullying can include the above, as well as difficulty trusting others, self-blaming, stress-related anxiety, and ulcers.

While bullying can occur to anyone, some groups of people are more likely to be bullied: those with few friends, those with a disability, neurodiverse people, overweight people, and members of the LGBTQ2S+ community.

What can you do?

Wear a pink shirt on February 28th to show support for anti-bullying

Inform yourself on the cause: https://pinkshirtdaycanada.ca/

 Visit the website: https://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/bystanders-to-bullying as a resource to being a Bystanders to Bullying

 Read this Blog - Becoming an Upstander to Bullying Just Got Easier! 

 Visit www.prevnet.ca for a variety of resources and information on bullying in Canada specifically

How to Prevent Bullying website: https://www.stopbullying.gov/prevention/how-to-prevent-bullying

Please reach out to us at Center Street Psychology, as we provide uniquely tailored therapeutic plans and interventions to support you and collaborate on your personal wellness goals. We are an inclusive clinic, located in Calgary, Alberta that provides in-person and virtual psychological services across Canada in the evenings and weekends. Please text or call 403-399-5120 to talk to our Director of Client Care, Amy, who will guide you through the intake process.

Written by: Lindsay Mcnena

Center Street Psychology https://www.centerstreetpsychology.com
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