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WHY WILL THE TEACHERS BE
WEARING PINK SHIRTS ON MAY 23 AT RPS?
Pink Shirt
Day is about working together to prevent or stop bullying by celebrating
people's difference and promoting positive relationships.
An annual event celebrated in many countries
around the world, Pink Shirt Day encourages people to talk about bullying and
take action against it. On Pink Shirt Day, Friday 23 May 2014, we ask New
Zealanders to Speak up. Stand together. Stop bullying.
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 PINK
SHIRT DAY 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.
SPEAK UP.
STAND
TOGETHER.
STOP BULLYING.
What to do
if you are being bullied? 
Being
bullied can make you feel very alone. Sometimes it can feel like it will never
stop, that no one can help you, or even that you deserve to be treated this
way.
“Be proud of who you are. It’s okay to be a nerd
– Einstein was a nerd, and look where he ended up. It’s their problem, not
yours. Who you are is great.”
Finn, 10
No one deserves to be bullied
All of us need a little extra help sometimes.
Reaching out is a brave thing to do. Connecting with others can help you feel
less alone, and empower you to start creating change.
It’s normal to feel frightened or even ashamed
when you tell someone you’re being bullied. Don’t let this stop you from asking
for help!
Find someone to talk to
Be mindful when choosing who to talk to. Figure
out the best person in your community for you to approach. This might be your
elders, a kaumatua, youth leaders, a parent, a friend or someone at school. The
important thing is that you trust this person.
If the person that you talked to doesn’t help
you, don’t give up, find someone else. We know that young people often report
bullying as being more severe than adults perceive it. This sometimes makes it
hard to connect with adults, but don’t give up. Silence doesn’t change
anything. If you’ve experienced bullying, a good thing to do is write down the
where, who and when of the occurrence. This can make it easier to talk to
someone about what has happened.
You can also call a helpline. Helplines are
staffed by trained volunteers who are there to listen to what’s going on in
your life, and help you to find solutions to what’s bothering you.
Helplines
• What's Up (for 5-18 year olds; 1 pm to 11 pm) - 0800 942 8787.
• Kidsline (aimed at children up to 14 years of age; 4 pm to 6 pm weekdays) –
0800 54 37 54 (0800 KIDSLINE).
• OUTLine NZ - 0800 688 5463 (OUTLINE) (provides confidential telephone
support for sexuality or gender
identity issues).
•
Suicide Crisis Helpline (aimed at those in distress, or those who are
concerned about the wellbeing of someone else) - 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO).
If you want to report someone else’s behaviour to
your school, it might help to take a friend with you for support and backup.
More tips
•
Find safety in numbers – walk to, from, and around school with friends.
•
Stand up for yourself – this can be really hard, but sometimes showing your
strength and telling people their behaviour is unacceptable can be very
powerful. If it happens again, it can be really helpful to be able to tell your
parents or school that you’ve tried to manage the situation on your own and let
that person know that you don’t like how they’re treating you.
•
Walk away – often bullies thrive on attention. Starving them of attention
by ignoring them and removing yourself from the situation is a powerful thing
to do.
•
Write down what happened to you, as many details as you can remember.
•
Don’t attack others – you’ll just become a part of the problem.
How to protect yourself from
cyber bullying
•
Share only what you would be happy to have shared (keeping in mind that
other people may share your information, too).
•
Have strong passwords and keep them to yourself (and perhaps a parent).
•
Do not answer any emails/texts that you feel uncomfortable with.
•
Do not answer emails/texts/friend requests from people you don’t know.
•
Be careful what you write - do not respond to others if you are angry or
frustrated.
What can I do if I am being
cyber bullied?
•
Do not react - it gives the bully power. Don’t reply to text or online
messages (we know this can be hard).
•
Print out or screenshot examples of cyber bullying and show them to someone
else.
•
Report cyber bullying to social media sites, phone companies or internet
companies.
•
Block the phone number/profile you are receiving the messages from.
•
Save what has happened to show parents, teachers or police.
•
Use assertive responses only if you need something to happen e.g. “Remove
this post immediately”.
•
Ask for help.
Getting through
While addressing bullying is a good thing, if
you’re not ready, or you’re finding things tough, find things to make you feel
better and boost your self-confidence.
We asked the members of Rainbow Youth’s Generation
Queer group what to do to make yourself feel better when you’re being bullied.
These are some of their tips:
•
Listen to music.
•
Share your story with an online community you feel safe in – such as Tumblr
– and pay attention to the positive responses you get.
•
Play a video game and lose yourself in it for a while.
•
Text someone you love – like your mum or a friend, and just vent.
•
Let yourself be heard. It’s not always about finding solutions; sometimes
it’s about being understood.
•
Talk to overseas/removed friends who aren’t involved in the situation and
don’t know the people involved.
•
Write a long letter and burning the paper as a way of release.
•
Writing a letter and giving it to your dean/principal to actually fix the
problem rather than mask the symptoms.
•
Do some exercise – it will make you feel more positive and optimistic.
For more
detailed help please visit the
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