Wear it Purple Day on 27 August is about showing LGBTIQ+ young people that they have the right to be proud of who they are.

It is about creating safe spaces in schools, universities, workplaces and public spaces to show LGBTIQ+ young people that they are seen and supported.

Every year thousands of schools, community organisations, universities and workplaces organise events across Australia, and through these actions, directly and indirectly, hundreds of thousands of young people are reached, meaning that young LGBTIQ+ people will benefit from seeing the respect, recognition, love and inclusion that surrounds them.

This year’s theme is “Start the conversation... keep it going”.

The 2021 theme focuses on the important and necessary conversations we have in our daily life; particularly those that centre around sexual orientation and gender identity.

It aims to remind people that the issues we reflect on during Wear it Purple Day should not only be considered on that particular day but every day.

If rainbow young people are to be empowered to be proud of who they are and who they might become, we need to encourage and support them each day in the classroom or workplace.

The importance of pronouns and gender affirmation, as well as the use of inclusive language, is a great place to start.

“We hear from young LGBTIQ+ people in our Wear it Purple Youth Action Council (YAC) and broader youth networks that they face fear of being rejected or discriminated against,” Wear it Purple president Ross Wetherbee said.

“Our schools, universities, and workplaces can play an active and visible role to change this statistic, making it clear that this behaviour is not tolerated, and by consciously including rainbow young people so they know they are safe, and that they have the right to be proud of who they are.

“The power of storytelling and visibility enables our rainbow youth to hear from those who have gone before them, their struggles and triumphs, and know that no matter where they’re at right now, there is so much hope and a million possibilities awaiting them.

“That’s why we are inviting the community to wear purple on Friday 27 August, and to start the conversation, and keep it going.”

Today 75 per cent of LGBTIQ+ youth in Australia will be bullied because of their identity. 80 per cent will experience it at school.

Because of this, LGBTIQ+ youth are up to 12 times more likely to experience depression and up to five times more likely to experience anxiety.

Wear it Purple is a community organisation and run entirely by volunteers.

It was founded in 2010 after several rainbow young people took their own lives following bullying and harassment resulting from the lack of acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity.

One of Wear it Purple’s priorities is to support schools to run Wear it Purple Day events to show LGBTIQ+ youth that they are supported and that they belong.

Wear it Purple provides free resources to schools and supports as many as possible with guest speakers from Wear it Purple’s Youth Action Council.

All donations and funds raised by Wear it Purple go to supporting LGBTIQ+ youth.

Find out more and obtain resources at wearitpurple.org