MEDIA RELEASE
30 March 2011 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Gay Olympian Urges Prime Minister to Address Homophobic Bullying

On April 14, Prime Minister John Key will have a full letterbox - a nationwide letter writing campaign, led by New Zealand Olympic speed skater, Blake Skjellerup, has just been launched.

To coincide with Pink Shirt Day, New Zealand’s national day of action against bullying, one thousand secondary school students from all over the country are writing to Mr Key, with a message that homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools is out of control and must be addressed.

Skjellerup, 25, who represented New Zealand at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, says: “When I was in high school I was bullied for being gay. It left me feeling isolated and depressed. I felt like I had no one to turn to. I was lucky I had my sport to focus on, a lot of gay young people don’t have that.”

The government-funded Youth07 survey, conducted by the University of Auckland in 96 schools throughout the country, showed:

• Queer youth are six times more likely to make a serious suicide attempt than heterosexual youth
• More than half the Queer students polled had been hit or physically harmed in the previous year
• Of all students who reported being bullied, five times as many were bullied because they were Queer (or perceived to be Queer) than for any other reason

To take part in the campaign, students can log on to www.pinkshirtday.org.nz for information on how to put together their letter, which can be sent directly through the website and in confidence.

In a an online video at www.pinkshirtday.org.nz, Skjellerup is encouraging young people to write to the Prime Minister with their own stories of bullying and how it has negatively affected their wellbeing and their education.

“As recognized by Mr Key in a recent interview, we have young people who are taking their own lives as a result of bullying. He is clearly committed to making our schools a safe space for all students,” Skjellerup says. “However, we’ll be asking him to look more closely at the disproportionate amount of bullying that targets queer youth. This is a campaign by youth, for youth.”

Skjellerup is currently in Nelson where he will be speaking at school assemblies in six of the area’s high schools. “It’s a fantastic opportunity to reach out to those kids who are afraid, alone and invisible. You don’t have to be gay to be a target of homophobic bullying.”

The assembly talks have been organized by Q-Youth, a Nelson-based advocacy group which aims to bring straight and queer students together to form safer school communities.

Seb Stewart, executive director of Q-Youth, says: “Having Blake come along to speak shows that you can be visible as a gay person in society and in sport and not feel excluded. He’s a sporting hero we can be proud of, a wonderful role model for queer young people and a passionate spokesperson for equal rights.”

The letter-writing campaign is supported by a nationwide network of queer youth groups, including Q-Youth and Rainbow Youth in Auckland; as well as the Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand.

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