Petition Statement
As the founder of The Well-being Initiative, and as an educator who has personally endured its devastating effects, I am saying NO to workplace bullying in schools. This is not an isolated problem; it is a global pandemic of psychological abuse hiding in plain sight.

Globally, nearly one in ten people in the workplace report experiencing psychological violence and harassment (International Labour Organization et al., 2022). Workplace trauma is particularly insidious because it is so often denied and invalidated, which prevents healing (DeKay, 2025, September 21). When teachers are forced to compromise their professional ethics and values due to systemic constraints—such as a lack of resources or unethical directives—they suffer from moral injury, a distinct form of psychological harm recently recognized in the DSM-5-TR (Stephens, 2025). This is not burnout; it is the soul-wound that comes from institutional betrayal.

These adverse work experiences cause direct psychosocial and physical harm (DeKay, 2024). The consequences are devastating, spanning professional stagnation, loss of income, strained family relationships, and severe impacts on physical and mental health, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD (DeKay, 2025, September 24). This crisis of well-being directly undermines student learning and academic success. A definitive systematic review confirmed that teacher burnout is significantly associated with worse academic achievement in students (Madigan & Kim, 2021). This is not just an occupational hazard; it is an educational and moral emergency.

Our Demands
We call on governments, education departments, school leadership bodies, and teacher unions worldwide to:

• Enforce robust anti-bullying and psychological safety policies that explicitly protect school staff from workplace trauma and moral injury, and establish independent units to investigate allegations of psychological abuse.
• Implement comprehensive whistle-blower protection protocols that guarantee anonymity, safety from retaliation, and dignity for those who report misconduct.
• Provide immediate, fully-funded mental health support tailored to moral distress, including professional counselling and peer support networks for all education staff.
• Mandate annual, evidence-based training in ethical and trauma-informed leadership. School leaders must be equipped to recognize the signs of trauma and create environments that support regulation and healing (DeKay, 2025, September 23).
• A positive administrative climate is a primary protective factor against burnout (Perrone et al., 2019).
• Establish independent oversight and accountability mechanisms to ensure school leaders and governing bodies act decisively and are held responsible when they fail to protect their staff.

A 142-Day Campaign for Change: Delivery on 14 February 2026
This petition is the cornerstone of our #142daystosaynotobullying campaign, running from 25 September 2025 to 14 February 2026. On this final day, a day we reclaim for teacher self-love and professional dignity, this petition will be formally delivered to the following leaders, demanding they make the well-being of educators a non-negotiable priority.

International Change-Makers
Audrey Azoulay — Director-General, UNESCO
Gilbert Houngbo — Director-General, International Labour Organisation (ILO)
Catherine Russell — Executive Director, UNICEF
David Edwards — General Secretary, Education International (EI)
Farida Shaheed — UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education

National Change-Makers (South Africa)
Siviwe Gwarube — Minister of Basic Education, Republic of South Africa
Hubert Mathanzima Mweli — Director-General, Department of Basic Education (DBE)
Andrew Christoffel Nissen — Chairperson, South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)
Lucky Goodman Mabutho Cele — Chairperson, South African Council for Educators (SACE)
Basil Manuel — Executive Director, National Professional Teachers’ Organisation of South Africa (NAPTOSA)

Join Us and Say #nottoday 

Your signature is an act of solidarity. 

By signing, you join our #142daystosaynotobullying campaign—a global movement of educators and allies who are choosing to prioritise their own well-being, practise self-love, and stand up together to say #nottoday to abuse, silence, and neglect.

Learn more about creating healthy school environments at: www.wellbeing-matters.co.za

Sign now.

Protect teachers.

Protect learners.

Protect the future of education.

Evil happens when good people do nothing. 

I call on you to take a stand against workplace bullying and moral injury in schools worldwide: #saynottoday

#142daystosaynotobullying
 
References
Agyapong, B., Obuobi-Donkor, G., Burback, L., & Wei, Y. (2022). Stress, burnout, anxiety and depression among teachers: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(17), 10706. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph191710706

DeKay, N. [Dr. Nicole DeKay (She/Her)]. (2024, October 25). What are adverse work experiences (AWEs)? In short, they're the things at work that harm us. In research speak [Post]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nicolejdekay_what-are-adverse-work-experiences-awes-activity-7256822305245257729-96i2_

DeKay, N. [Dr. Nicole DeKay (She/Her)]. (2025, September 21). Workplace trauma is particularly insidious because it's denied by so many. Physicians, specialists, mental health providers, and so many others [Post]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nicolejdekay_workplace-trauma-is-particularly-insidious-activity-7375559457126350848-Wky2_

DeKay, N. [Dr. Nicole DeKay (She/Her)]. (2025, September 23). What does it mean to be trauma informed at work? You believe that everyone has experienced a stressful event [Post]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nicolejdekay_what-does-it-mean-to-be-trauma-informed-at-activity-7376284472926752768-q41n_

DeKay, N. [Dr. Nicole DeKay (She/Her)]. (2025, September 24). The consequences of bully reach across a wide range of areas: Financial, family & social: Loss of income, strained relationships [Post]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/nicolejdekay_the-consequences-of-bully-reach-across-a-activity-7376646858540011521-EAeX_

International Labour Organization, Lloyd’s Register Foundation, & Gallup. (2022). Experiences of violence and harassment at work: A global first survey. ILO. https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_843522/lang--en/index.htm_

Madigan, D. J., & Kim, L. E. (2021). Does teacher burnout affect students? A systematic review of its association with academic achievement and student-reported outcomes. International Journal of Educational Research, 105, 101714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2020.101714

Perrone, F., Player, D., & Youngs, P. (2019). Administrative climate, early career teacher burnout, and turnover. Journal of School Leadership, 29(3), 189–210. https://doi.org/10.1177/1052684619836823

Stephens, T. M. (2025, September 20). In a historic move, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) has formally recognized moral injury in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual [Post]. LinkedIn. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tesestephens_moralinjury-dsm-apa-activity-7375130458029707264-dljJ_