A handshake is used to convey trust, respect, balance and equity.
When it's done while wearing pink gloves, it's a symbol that demonstrates a person's willingness to stand up against bullying. That's the premise behind Greater Sudbury Police Service's Pink Glove initiative.
More than 100 students from high schools in the valley and Chelmsford donned their own pink gloves on Friday during a five-kilometre Courage to Stand Run. It was the first of its kind, and will help connect secondary schools with the Courage to Stand event, held every year on April 20.
Const. Nihad Hasanefendic was one of the organizers of the run. He said it aims to bring awareness to a very serious issue.
“Bullying is happening everywhere, whether it's in the schools, in the community or online, it's a reality, and we're not immune to it,” he said.
The pink gloves were handed to participants to show their pledge to stand for courage and against bullying.
“We started on a smaller scale for the first time, but we're hoping to make it an annual event,” he said. “I'm sure next year, we'll get a lot more participants.”
Police Chief Paul Pedersen said with the rise of social media, bullying has been taken to a new level.
“These five school have come together to take a stand against bullying,” Pedersen said. “It has always been a problem in our schools, but it is really coming to the forefront as social media takes on a new light and extends that bullying to where it never goes away.
“This initiative is about taking that courage to stand against something, and then shaking on it, and creating that bond between two people that says we won't behave like that.”
Statistics show that, when it comes to bullying, there are usually bystanders present, he said.
“Our big message is that as much as 50 per cent of the time, bullying stops within 10 seconds if you intervene, and 85 per cent of the time, there are bystanders present,” Pedersen said. “So, as a group of young people, if you see someone being bullied, it's your job to step in and say that's not cool. Sure, standing against bullying is one thing, and that's important, but stand for being that person who stops it.”
Participating schools were École secondaire Catholique Champlain, École secondaire l'Horizon, Confederation Secondary School, Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School and l'École secondaire Hanmer.
