Bryan Ward - Pink Shirt Day

Pink Shirt Day is about working together to prevent or stop bullying by celebrating people’s differences and promoting positive relationships.

An annual event celebrated in many countries around the world, Pink Shirt day (PSD) encourages people to talk about bullying and take action against it. This PSD we ask New Zealanders to speak up. Stand together. Stop bullying.


What does this mean?

Speak up
Giving voice to a problem is the first step towards addressing it. Having conversations with your friends, family, children, parents, teachers and wider communities is a great way to come up with new ideas and strategies to address bullying. Speaking up is also about asking for help when you need it. This can be scary, and sometimes the first person you ask can’t or won’t do anything to help you. Keep asking. PSD exists because many people care deeply about helping you.

Stand together
Creating allies is an important PSD message. On 23 May we hope you’ll look out on a sea of allies in pink, ready to stand at your side to fight bullying. Being bullied often makes people feel alone, so it’s up to you to make them realise that this isn’t true.

Stop bullying
This message is both the simplest and the hardest. It’s not easy to change behaviour, but that doesn’t mean we’re not going to try. What power do YOU have to stop bullying? Whether it’s asking for help, standing up for someone else or changing your own behaviour, none of us are powerless to help others or ourselves.


History of Pink Shirt Day
Pink Shirt Day began in Nova Scotia, Canada in 2007. A group of students decided to defend a kid who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. In a show of solidarity, many of his peers turned up to school the next day wearing pink shirts, and PSD was born.
By wearing a pink shirt, people identify themselves as an ally. The pink shirt is a way of showing those being bullied that there are many people around who care.

We’ve been celebrating Pink Shirt Day in New Zealand since 2009 and the event grows stronger and larger every year. This year, the Mental Health Foundation, The Peace Foundation, Family Works, Youthline, QSA Network, Rainbow Youth and the New Zealand Post Primary Teachers’ Association have come together to help organise and celebrate Pink Shirt Day.

We would like to thank everyone who shared their wisdom and stories with us to help us build this website. It has been a privilege. Our thanks also go to all the schools, organisations and businesses that support Pink Shirt Day. We could not do this without you.


For more information go to http://www.pinkshirtday.org.nz