Wear it Purple Day is an annual LGBTIQA+ awareness day especially for young people. Every year on Wear it Purple Day schools, workplaces and community groups wear purple to show their visible support for LGBTQIA+ youth. The day is focused on promoting diversity, raising awareness of issues young people face and showing young people that their unique identities are amazing and something to be celebrated.
Wear it Purple Day is important because of the discrimination and bullying that rainbow young people continue to face. The Writing Themselves In 4 report from La Trobe University tells us that in Australia 54 per cent of LGBTQIA+ young people aged 16 to 17 reported very high levels of psychological stress compared to 11 per cent of the general population of 16 to 17-year-olds.
The Y NSW Youth Voice Team recently held the first online session of PULSE, an online series of workshops for young people designed to amplify their voices and have conversations on topics that matter to them. In honour of Wear it Purple Day, young person and trans advocate Av De Vries joined us online to tell his story. Av encouraged rainbow young people in NSW to live authentically and to not be afraid to chase their dreams and passions.
During PULSE, young people, loved ones and allies shared their thoughts on what we can all do to better support LGBTQIA+ young people. Here are some of the insights:
- Be authentic with yourself and everything else will fall into place
- The love and support given by loved ones to LGBTQIA+ youth can work to combat the discrimination and judgement that society places upon them
- If you are navigating coming out, know that coming out doesn't make you queer, you are already enough regardless of whether people know or not
- The love of a chosen family can be just as fulfilling as the love of related family
- "You do you, boo!"
To the LGBTQIA+ young people at the Y NSW we shared the message that “You are wonderful just as you are, and you are welcome. Celebrate yourself today and every day. Know that however isolated you may feel now, you are not alone, and your community is ready and waiting to embrace you.”
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