Bullying is a serious and distressing experience that can occur in any setting including schools, workplaces and online. There is substantive evidence that both being bullied and bullying of others is associated with a range of negative outcomes. These include increased risk of mental health problems such as depression and anxiety and it is associated with suicidal behaviour.
Pink shirt day is a global day that represents a stand against bullying and aims to increase acceptance of diversity and promote inclusiveness.
Pink shirt day in New Zealand is led by the Mental Health Foundation with support from a number of other organisations such as the Human Rights Commission. See their website for more information.
https://www.pinkshirtday.org.nz
CASA is 100% behind Pink Shirt day and efforts to combat bullying in our communities
Check out these resources that provide understanding and guidance on addressing bullying
- https://www.netsafe.org.nz/advice/young-people/ has a lot of information for rangatahi around managing different types of bullying including when they have said things themselves online they regret.
- https://www.bullyingfree.nz is a great resource for whanau on tackling bullying (from both sides) including info about why, what to look out for and what to do.
- https://mentalwealth.nz/ has lots of resources including on bullying and online bullying.
- https://www.casa.org.nz/resources/48-casa-cyberbullying-and-harmful-communications-parents-v2-0-2016/file provides information for parents on addressing cyberbullying
- https://worksafe.govt.nz/topic-and-industry/bullying-prevention-toolbox/ is a resource from Worksafe that includes advice for workers and provides guidelines for dealing with bullying in the workplace.