All posts tagged with: Pink Shirt Day

Spencer Chandra Hebert, BC Provincial MLA for Vancouver-West End. Photo contributed.

Canada is regarded around the world for having created an environment of equality. Thanks to the Constitution of Canada, the Charter of Rights and Freedoms provides same-sex couples equal rights to employment, health benefits, adoption, immigration, housing, finances and pensions, and marriage. Even with all these rights, bullying, specifically in schools, remains a sensitive and important issue today.

There are number of recent cases in Canada that have received international media attention where youth have committed suicide because they were faced with bulling by their school classmates. The public has been outraged and has are now calling on governments to take action.

Studies have shown the rate of suicide and depression of LGBT youth is higher than non-LGBT youth. To date, it has been the responsibility of schools to provide a safe education environment for students, free of discrimination and harassment. Most schools in Canada, public or private, can be held liable for harassment, name-calling and bullying of both students and staff under the Humans Rights Act.

Across Canada, most schools have not implemented specific anti-gay bullying or name-calling policies. The Yukon has excluded minors from protection of sexual orientation under the Human Rights Act, leaving youth vulnerable and at the highest risk of any other jurisdiction in Canada. Polar-opposite is British Columbia, which in updating school curriculums to incorporate LGBT topics; however, many believe more work needs to be done.

Without having specific policies or laws in any Province or Territory in Canada, some schools have taken action by setting up gay-straight alliances.

“One thing we’ve called for, for a long time now, is ensuring Codes of Conduct in all school districts across the province explicitly protect LGBT youth, and to ensure there are steps to deal with homophobia and trans-phobia,” said BC Provincial MLA for Vancouver-West End, Spencer Chandra Hebert.

“It’s not good enough to say we don’t think people should bully,” Spencer explains. You actually have to name the grounds of discrimination and explain them because people will sometimes discriminate against someone just because they don’t know any better, not because they actually hate gay people or because they’ve been told that gay people are bad.”

The BC Government is an advocate for Pink Shirt Day, a public awareness day in Canada asking for everyone to put a stop to bullying for both youth and adults. While the movement has sparked media attention and has raised awareness of the issues around bullying, the fundamental issues remain. The public is asking for new legislation to protect youth in British Columbia, and across Canada.

“A one-size-fits-all model doesn’t work,” Spencer said, explaining how new legislation needs to be specific. “It’s not one-size-fits-all bullying. It is explicit targets on LGBT kids back, and thus you need to respond to that specific action. The approach so far of ‘don’t do it, don’t be a bully’ hasn’t been all that successful.”

The Vancouver School District has been the most progressive district in the province, hiring an anti-bullying coordinator. School Boards are also working through co-governance, to find ways to help share knowledge around the province, educating both students and teachers. Other organizations, including, Out in Schools, are working with school districts on programing and resources to provide education and facilitate safer environment in public schools.

LGBT youth need the same rights as any other child in British Columbia. They deserve an opportunity to learn in a safe and welcoming environment, free of harassment and bullying. Although the BC Liberal Party has been in power for the last three consecutive terms, spanning 12 years, they have yet to announce plans to move forward with legislation or an all-encompassing strategy, and have left the duty and responsibility to the local school districts.

The BC Liberals were given the opportunity to respond to interview requests, however, at the time this post was published, all interview requests were denied citing it was too risky.

Since when is the protection of youth in British Columbia a risky subject? Leave your comments on this blog post.

Having grown up in a small town, I can relate to what it is like to be bullied. It wasn’t easy going through high school. I knew I was different. I just didn’t know why my classmates wanted to pick on me. What did I do to deserve that kind of treatment? Why wouldn’t anyone stop them? I had no idea how to make them stop.

Everyone goes through some kind of bullying in his or her lives. In 2007, ten years after I graduated from high school, two grade 12 students in Nova Scotia noticed a grade 9 student being bullied after he wore a pink shirt to school. The grade 12 students wanted to send a powerful message to the bully in their school and encouraged every student in their school to wear pink.

Five years later, Pink Shirt Day has grown beyond a grass roots phenomenon into a national event. In British Columbia, radio station CKNW has been the leader championing the awareness campaign in an effort to stop bullying.

Here are some facts about bullying:

• Bullying happens to someone in Canada every 7 minutes on the playground. (Bullying.org).
• Bullying happens in many different forms. It’s doing, saying or acting in a way that hurts someone else or makes him or her feel bad on purpose. (Verbal, physical, social, extortion, cyber bullying).
• 50% of Canadian school children report being bullied and 45% of children surveyed do not feel safe when they go to school. (Bullying Study, University of Guelph).
• 34% of Canadians surveyed knew of students in their community who had been targeted by cyber bullying in the past year
• 35% of workers have experienced workplace bullying first hand
• Children who are bullied are at risk for impaired social development, mental and physical illnesses, suicide and school absenteeism.
• Direct Bullying: open attacks, physical, threats, teasing
• Indirect Bullying: attempts to harm social position including exclusion & gossip
• Bullying is aggressive behavior that involves unwanted, negative actions
• Bullying involves a pattern of behavior repeated over time
• Bullying involves an imbalance of power or strength

To demonstrate that bullying isn’t just happening to kids in our schools, but to adults, including myself, I want to share another personal story on bullying.

In the run up to the Mr. Gay Canada 2012 competition, the Vernon Morning Star published an article on my candidacy, encouraging citizens from my hometown to go online and place a vote for me. After that article was published, a local resident wrote an opinion letter personally attacking me for being homosexual. This is a perfect example of how people of any age can be bullied. The opinion letter outraged residents from the local community. It also sparked people from across North America to write in letters to the Editor, appalled by the comments. The letter was proven by Gay Vernon that, according to the Attorney General of British Columbia,  violated my rights under the Human Rights Code.

As Pink Shirt Day approaches, I want to thank the many individuals I went to school with at Armstrong Elementary, Len Wood Elementary and Pleasant Valley Secondary School who have personally reached out to me. Some of these individuals were people who bullied me in school. After they learned how I have had the courage to come out, advocate and raise awareness of LGBT rights and anti-bullying, and how I have demonstrated how I am a positive role-model for youth, these individuals have pledged they will foster an environment of love, acceptance and tolerance for all. Now more than ever, I am encouraged that today’s youth, and our youth of tomorrow will have a safer and happier environment to grow up in.

Youth already have enough pressures in life – friendships, their school work, home life challenges, and the peer pressure of negative influences including drugs, drinking and smoking. We need to allow youth to become proud individuals with great self-esteem and confidence in who they are. To do this, we need to put a stop to bullying in our communities.

So what can you do?

On Wednesday, February 29, I strongly encourage everyone in British Columbia, Canada, the United States and around the world to show your support and help stop bullying by wearing a pink shirt. Official Pink Shirt Day t-shirts are on sale at London Drugs locations and online. Proceeds from the t-shirt sales will go to the Boys & Girls Clubs of South Coast BC and the CKNW Orphans’ Fund.

Photo credit: Jay Minter