Wear it Purple Day is an annual event in Australia to celebrate diversity and young people from the LGBTQIA+ community. It acknowledges that all young people, regardless of their gender or sexual identification, have the right to be proud of who they are and who they are becoming. It occurs on the last Friday of August and in 2024, this year’s date is Friday, 30th August.
The initiative was first launched by students, co-founded by Katherine Hudson and Scott Williams, in 2010 following the suicide of an American teenager, Tyler Clementi and the many others who took their own lives following bullying and harassment.
Why Purple? Hudson associates the colour purple as a ‘way of bringing people together from all different backgrounds and creating a symbol of unity’. For the first Wear It Purple Day, participants were asked to wear a purple arm band and the day was supported by the Federal Minister for Health, the Teachers Federation, Coming Out Australia and RUOK. Members of parliament attended the Wear It Purple Day’s inaugural reception. Since then, Wear It Purple has become internationally recognised and has received support from the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, the Department of Health, Sydney City Council, State and Federal Police, the Queensland Ambulance Service, NSW Emergency Service and the NSW Rural Fire Service – to name a few.
The Wear it Purple initiative strives to foster supportive, safe, empowering and inclusive environments for rainbow young people and to show that there are people who support and love them. On August 30, by wearing purple we show young people across the world that there is hope, and that there are people who support them and accept them for who they are.
At BUSY Health, we offer mental health support for young people from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Studies show that from early childhood many LGBTQIA+ community members identify a sense of feeling or being different, with this sense of difference often accompanied by worries about negative judgements and perceptions of others, the potential for social rejection and consequential impacts on mental health, including anxiety, depression and stress.
The experience of stigmatisation, exposure to discrimination, perceived and (often) expected needs to ‘fit in’ or ‘conform’ and frequent demands to adapt in multiple domains of life can all lead to elevated levels of psychological distress symptoms and increased vulnerability to mental health conditions. Like anybody, when we’re faced with greater demands than we have resources to deal with, feelings of overwhelm can often occur. This can be especially true in adolescence, highlighting the importance of a safe school, work and community environments, which can make a huge difference in the mental well-being of young people.
Not knowing where to turn, who will be safe and supportive to speak to, or what supportive resources are out there can see young LGBTQIA+ people finding themselves without the support and resources they need and when they need it – some studies have suggested nearly half of those experiencing high levels of distress had never consulted any providers of mental health support in their lifetime. Unfortunately, this has too often contributed to increased rates of suicide and suicide attempts in the community.
BUSY Health can provide non-judgemental counselling and treatment for people experiencing discrimination, feelings of rejection by family or friends, demands and challenges in understanding our own unique differences, or mental health challenges. BUSY Health’s practitioners aim to treat every individual with respect, dignity and care, recognising the unique challenges faced by every individual as well as the strengths they hold. Each practitioner strives to create a safe environment to discuss difficult issues, uncover helpful strategies and resources and ultimately empower the individual to live at their best.
We encourage everyone to participate this year in Wear it Purple to promote and support safe and inclusive communities for all young people!