My sister is twelve. She prefers to dress in boy clothes and has her hair short. She has been bullied for it, and is currently off school due to feeling unsafe. The school has refused to do anything about this, despite the bullying being reported for the past year. Pictures have been taken of her and spread across the school, and there are rumours of her sexual orientation and identity (not that it matters in any way who and what she identifies as). And she is not the only one. 

1 out of 4 teens are bullied. Out of those, 14% will consider suicide, and half will attempt it. 4,400 suicide deaths per year are from young people. 10 - 14 year old girls are at higher risk of suicide. 

160,000 students will stay at home every day in fear of getting bullied. LGBT students are 5 times more likely to skip school, and 28% feel forced to drop out. 30% of all suicides have been due to sexual orientation and expression, and students are 2 to 3 times more likely to commit suicide.

What's worse is that one third of teachers have been reported to do nothing to resolve issues from bullying.

This needs to stop. Now.

I am proposing a 'Love Yourself and Others' programme to be held in all schools, primary and secondary. It will teach students to accept themselves the way they are, whether it is how they dress, or how they act, or how they look. Not only will it teach students to love themselves, it will teach students to accept other people how they are. Not only will this decrease bullying, but it may also decrease sexual harassment. 

Please sign and help our next generation feel comfortable with themselves for who they are, not what the world wants them to be. 

Thanks for reading