February 22nd is Pink Shirt Day across Canada and in many other countries around the world.
Pink Shirt Day originated in 2007 in the Annapolis Valley of Nova Scotia Canada, conceived by two high school students Travis Price and David Shepherd. Travis and David purchased pink t-shirts for classmates to wear in support of a student who was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. What was cool about Pink Shirt Day, its origin was student-created and student-led.
Since its creation in 2007, Pink Shirt Day has grown into a yearly global event promoting anti-bullying through “performance activism”, the purpose of which is to raise awareness and encourage kindness and inclusiveness. Pink Shirt Day has also become a significant fund-raising event for not-for-profit organizations to raise money, through the sales of Pink Shirt Day merchandise, which they then use to help fund bullying prevention programs.
However, something we commonly hear from teens – while the intention behind Pink Shirt Day is commendable, the reality is that it does very little to address the root causes of bullying and has very little effect on those who peer aggress others at their school. In fact, many teens shared that often these same peer aggressors are wearing pink shirts to blend into the surroundings on this specific day. The phrase, “like a wolf in sheep’s clothing” immediately came to mind when hearing this from teens.
As an example, we spoke to a teen who stated that right after their Pink Shirt Day event last year, two “well-known” students who were wearing their pink shirts started to peer aggress another student to the point where there had to be an adult intervention.
Many students shared with us that the anti-bullying messages conveyed on Pink Shirt Day are quickly forgotten by most teens the following day. What we heard clearly from teens is that to effectively tackle bullying, discussions must be continual, prevention education must be transparent and where possible student-led, truthful, and practical, and prompt action must be taken when bullying incidents are reported. We totally agree with these students!
Yes, on Pink Shirt Day some public and school events will aim to educate teens on the impacts of bullying and equip them with resources to prevent it or report it to a responsible adult. However, these events do very little to address the actual problematic behaviour or to assist those who are being targeted. We, adults, need to walk the walk and talk the talk that is being promoted at these events throughout the entire year.
Often at Pink Shirt Day events, reporting mechanisms and tools are promoted as a way for students to report incidents of bullying. We applaud schools and school districts that have implemented an effective bullying reporting mechanism for students, but when a report is made what was the follow-through? While it’s important to collect reports initiated by students to gather evidence to understand the problem, design and implement solutions, and to generate statistics about what is happening, what were the results of these reports– was there action taken? We have spoken with more than a few students who have stated to us that although they reported being targeted (either to a teacher or via a reporting tool), nothing happened and the bullying continued.
Recently, we assisted a family whose child suffered severe injuries from a violent attack at their school, which led to another student being arrested and charged with aggravated assault. It is worth mentioning that the parents and the teenager had alerted the school about the impending danger for several months before the attack. Allegedly, the school did very little if anything to minimize the risk to their child. The family is now consulting with a lawyer given they are now considering taking legal action against the school for negligence.
The challenge with Pink Shirt Day – it can often oversimplify a complex issue. Bullying prevention is not just a matter of wearing a pink shirt or promoting positive messages at a public event or on social media. It is a behaviour that is multi-factorial and can stem from a variety of underlying emotional, psychological, physical, and social factors (1). Addressing bullying requires a multi-faceted approach that addresses the multi-factorial root causes. In our opinion, Pink Shirt Day focuses on the symptoms of bullying rather than the causes.
Finally, teens have stated to us that Pink Shirt Day can be seen as a way for individuals, especially adults, to absolve themselves of responsibility for dealing with bullying. By wearing a pink shirt, they may feel that they have done their part in addressing the issue, but in reality, more needs to be done to create a culture of kindness and inclusiveness both in and out of school. This requires a sustained effort by everyone every day; not just one calendar day a year when we wear a pink shirt.
While Pink Shirt Day is a well-intentioned performance activism event, it should not be considered an event that effectively addresses the multifactorial issues of bullying. Pink Shirt Day is a public awareness campaign that effectively shines a light and brings focus to the topic of bullying once a year at a national and international level and nothing more. However, a by-product of Pink Shirt Day – it demonstrates that anti-bullying education requires a more intentional, comprehensive, financial, and sustained approach that addresses the root causes, and provides individuals with the tools and resources they need to help minimize the risk.
We are not saying that we need to abolish Pink Shirt Day, in fact, we participate in it every year. We just think that it needs to be put into a contextual perspective. This is especially true for those who use Pink Shirt Day as an example of how they are effectively dealing with bullying at their school or organization.
Digital Food For Thought
The White Hatter
References:
1.https://thewhitehatter.ca/cyberbullying-digital-peer-aggression/
