Bullying continues to be a major issue in our society, and on Wednesday the “Pink Shirt Day” national event is encouraging Canadians to don pink tops and raise awareness of the problem.
Three in four Canadian adults said they were bullied while in school, according to a 2016 survey, and nearly half of the parents polled said their kids have been bullied at some point. Harriet Tinka, the founder and coach of “Empowered Me”, said there are many reasons why kids pick on each other.
“Sometimes children bully because they want attention from their parents, or they want attention from teachers, from coaches,” she said on Global News Morning.
“The other reason – they could be going through a lot of issues at home. Maybe there’s drugs in the home, parents might be going through a divorce, or the other thing – they could be bullied by their own siblings.”
READ MORE: #pinkshirtday anti-bullying awareness day in Alberta
Bullying isn’t just limited to children tossing insults and punches at school – it’s experienced in the workplace, at home, and on the internet.
“There’s social media – cyber-bullying, there’s verbal bullying, there’s so many – physical bullying. There’s a whole variety that does affect self-esteem.”
Tinka’s Empowered Me organization holds workshops to help children be the best version of themselves and deal with bullying in a healthy way. She teaches children the WITS program, which stands for “Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out, Seek Help.”
“If you ignore the bully the conflict is ended, because most bullies want attention,” she explained.
If dealing with the problem directly doesn’t help, she suggested children have a list of people who can help. “It can be a teacher, a parent, any of those resources.”
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Tinka said the effects of bullying on a person’s self-esteem are significant. “If you say mean things to somebody, you have to be very careful; you cannot take it back. It’s done.”
The Pink Shirt Day movement began in Nova Scotia in 2007, after a student was bullied for wearing a pink shirt. It has since spread across Canada, with people of all ages joining in the fight against bullying.
READ MORE: Born this way: Edmonton students create pink shirts in battle against bullying
Several events are happening around Alberta. Government ministers will be wearing pink, and both David Eggen, the minister of education, and Irfan Sabir, the minister of community and social services, will be speaking at an Edmonton junior high school.
Southgate Centre mall will also be holding a rally featuring speakers from the Edmonton Police Service and Kids Help Phone.
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