COBOURG -- Kids can be cruel.
But Cobourg's St. Mary's Catholic Secondary School kids are saying enough is enough. During April, every second Wednesday is International Day of Pink.
On April 11, communities and schools united, dressed in pink to help raise awareness to stop homophobic, transphobic, and all forms of bullying.
"I've been bullied before and I definitely didn't like how it felt," said Grade 12 student Becky Taylor.
I was harassed for the longest time, for no reason
The International Day of Pink started in 2007 in Nova Scotia, when two straight high school boys saw a gay student wearing a pink shirt being bullied, and decided to intervene. The next day the two boys sported pink shirts to school to make a point.
The message was clear.
And at St. Mary's, kids are still passing on the message as hundreds of students showed up to school dressed in pink.
And for three specific students, it meant a lot to see pink everywhere.
"My whole life I was bullied, and it's so important that we show each other support and that you never have to be ashamed because of who you are," said Grade 11 student Sabrina Jones. "And you never know what someone's breaking point is either."
One demeaning comment could send someone over the edge, said Grade 11 student Savanah Niles. "And bullying isn't just happening in the hallways anymore," said Sabrina. "You leave school, you have to deal with it through your phone, Twitter, Facebook -- you can't escape it."
The girls agree, it's never been more important to let people know, it's not OK to bully someone for any reason.
And it's OK to ask for help too, they said.
At least 95 per cent of the time if someone steps in and says, "that's not cool," the bullying will stop, said Sabrina.
"I was harassed for the longest time, for no reason, and finally I said, 'people kill themselves over the stuff you say.' I freaked out, I fought back, and it hasn't happened since," said Sabrina.
Since 2002, as many as 250 youths, both straight and gay ages 10 to 19, kill themselves every year, according to Statistics Canada. Hate crimes motivated by sexual orientation have more than doubled against gays and lesbians.
"Nobody should ever be afraid to be who they are," said Savanah.