UN Free & Equal’s “Purple the World” video – Photo: UN Free & Equal.
The United Nations has partnered with GLAAD to call for more action against anti-LGBTQ bullying.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Free & Equal campaign have partnered with the LGBTQ media advocacy organization as part of Spirit Day.
As part of the partnership, UN Free & Equal — a global public information campaign aimed at promoting equal rights and fair treatment of LGBTQI people internationally — has created an video, “Purple the World,” advocating the end of bullying against, and promoting acceptance of, LGBTQI youth.
To commemorate Spirit Day, UN Free & Equal has also created a landing page where visitors can educate themselves about human rights concerns facing LGBTQI youth.
Users can also learn how allies, teachers, and governments can support those children, including: intervening when bullying occurs; creating support groups; teaching about the contributions of LGBTQI individuals; and repealing any laws that criminalize LGBTQI individuals or leave them exposed to potential discrimination.
“The UN Human Rights office is proud to stand up for the human rights of young LBGTI people on Spirit Day — and every day,” Veronica Birga, chief of OHCHR’s Women’s Human Rights and Gender Section and the head of UN Free & Equal, said in a statement.
“No child should be bullied for who they are or whom they love,” Birga said. “We all have more power than we think to stop bullying and to build societies where all young people, in all their diversity, can grow and thrive. Together we can stop hatefulness and embrace freedom, dignity and equality.”
Coinciding with National Bullying Prevention Month, Spirit Day began in 2010 after then-high school student Brittany McMillan created a Tumblr post asking students to wear purple — the color representing “spirit” in the LGBTQ Pride flag — to call attention to the suicides of several youth who were either LGBTQI or perceived as belonging to the LGBTQI community.
The event has since grown in scope, with major companies, workplaces, and individuals donning purple clothing, changing their corporate logos to purple, or taking other actions to express support LGBTQI youth and demonstrate their opposition to bullying and discrimination.
GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization, has been one of the biggest promoters of Spirit Day.
“We are so honored to be partnering with UN Free & Equal this year to take the fight against anti-LGBTI bullying to a global level,” Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD, said in a statement. “By using its platform to call on leaders and governments to address the issue of bullying on Spirit Day, UN Free & Equal plays a crucial role in amplifying the message that we will continue to fight for a world where LGBTI youth are fully safe and accepted.”
According to GLSEN’s most recent National School Climate Survey, 70% of LGBTQI students in the United States report that they’ve been verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Nearly 3 in 5 LGBTQI students say they feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and more than 2 in 5 say they feel unsafe or targeted because of their gender identity.
A Henrico County Circuit Court judge has partially overturned Virginia's ban on conversion therapy by signing a June consent decree with Attorney General Jason Miyares and the Virginia Department of Health Professions.
The decree stems from a lawsuit by Front Royal counselors John and Janet Raymond and allows licensed professionals to conduct "talk therapy" aimed at convincing minors to "change" or suppress feelings related to their sexual orientation or gender identity, provided they use only verbal methods and avoid physical conversion practices.
Despite pleas from LGBTQ advocates and allies, the Trump administration will officially shut down the national suicide prevention hotline’s support services for LGBTQ youth.
Previously, callers to 988 -- the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline -- could select from a menu of options to reach counselors with experience serving specific groups, such as veterans, Spanish-language speakers, or LGBTQ youth. The latter could be reached by pressing "3" from the menu options.
But effective July 17, that option will no longer be available to LGBTQ youth.
More than 100 prominent celebrities have signed on to a letter urging President Donald Trump's administration to hold off on implementing budget cuts that would eliminate specialized services for LGBTQ youth who contact the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Since its launch in 2022, callers to contact the national suicide prevention lifeline by dialing 988 have been given the option of speaking with counselors trained to work with specific populations, from Spanish-language speakers to LGBTQ youth.
The 988 service for LGBTQ youth has received nearly 1.3 million calls, texts, and chat messages since launching three years ago, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In February alone, the program received a daily average of 2,100 crisis contacts, reports The Hill.
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