Wear it Purple Day will be held on August 30, 2024. This year’s theme is ‘Your Passion, Your Pride’. On this day, supporters are encouraged to wear purple, so communities can demonstrate to rainbow young people that they are celebrated and respected, acknowledging all have the right to be proud of who they are and who they are becoming.

What is Wear it Purple Day?
Wear it Purple Day is an initiative of the Wear it Purple organisation https://www.wearitpurple.org/. Wear it Purple was founded in 2010 in response to global stories of real teenagers, real heartache, and their very real responses. In 2010, several rainbow young people took their own lives following bullying and harassment resulting from the lack of acceptance of their sexuality or gender identity.

Co-founded by Katherine Hudson and Scott Williams, Wear it Purple has developed into an international movement. New generations of rainbow young people continue to be dedicated to promoting the annual expression of support and acceptance to rainbow young people.

According to Wear it Purple, 75% of LGBTQIA+ youth experience some form of discrimination. Of those that do:

• 61% face verbal abuse
• 19% endure physical bullying
• 24.4% of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual individuals and 36.2% of Trans Australians grapple with depression (compared to 6.8% of the general population).

Australian research by Swinburne University reported similar findings in the sport and recreation sectors, revealing more than half of LGBTIQA+ young people in Australia have witnessed homophobia and discrimination in community-based sport and recreation settings. This report points to the need for sustained and targeted efforts to make sporting and recreation environments safe and inclusive for all players, such as celebrating and communicating support for LGBTIQA+ youth, like Wear it Purple Day.

Wear it Purple Day 2024 – Communications & Marketing Summary
How can you celebrate Wear it Purple Day?

• Do your research: Jump onto great sites like Wear it Purple’s for key topics like pronouns, coming out, supportive affirming conversation, and gender identity to name just a few.
• Visit Belgravia Leisure’s news section on our website to learn more about how Belgravia Leisure welcomes, supports, and includes rainbow young people and others.
• Reach out to your local Council partners to collaborate on any planned activities or events together.
• Host or attend panels and keynote events: The power of storytelling and visibility enables rainbow youth to connect to community and empowers allies to be changemakers in their own environments.
• Prioritise key issues through established pride employee network groups: Champion open and respectful discussion on topics like pronouns (where individuals see fit), gender affirmation and identity, inclusive language, and active allyship.
• Continue courageous conversations: Go beyond Wear It Purple Day to create safety in local venues and workplaces in each community.
• Post on social media to acknowledge your support of Wear it Purple Day.

LGBTQIA+ Stats AU, NZ & Belgravia Leisure

Australia

• A 2024 study has offered the most comprehensive snapshot ever provided of gay, lesbian, and queer sexualities in Australia, showing 9.5 per cent of Australians do not identify as heterosexual, with that figure increasing to 18.9 per cent among 16- to 24-year-olds.

New Zealand

• Of the total adult population, 0.8 percent identified as transgender or another gender/non-binary (that is, had a gender that is different from their sex recorded at birth) and 3.7 percent reported being a sexual identity other than heterosexual (gay or lesbian, bisexual, or another sexual identity).
• The LGBT+ population is younger than the general population, with more than half (54.2 percent) under 35 years of age.
• Furthermore, LGBT+ people were:
  • More than twice as likely to report daily feelings of anxiety, nervousness, and worry (26.3 percent) than the non-LGBT+ population (11.0 percent).
  • Almost three times as likely to report daily feelings of depression (9.8 percent) than the non-LGBT+ population (3.4 percent).
• With younger people typically earning less than older people, incomes of LGBT+ people were lower than the non-LGBT+ population.

Belgravia Leisure
The landmark Belgravia Leisure Census in late 2023 revealed that 8.6% of team members who responded identified as ‘Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual.’ A smaller percentage identified as ‘Other’ (2.4%) and a few as ‘Don’t know’ (1.3%). In New Zealand, a similar pattern emerged, with 9.8% identifying as ‘Lesbian, Gay, or Bisexual,’ and 2.4% as ‘Other.’ A slightly higher percentage (2.4%) chose ‘Don’t know.’

Belgravia Leisure Social Inclusion Policy
Belgravia Leisure proudly welcomes, supports, and includes all people into the facilities, programs, services, and employment it offers to communities across Australia and New Zealand. We support the LGBTQIA+ communities of Australia and New Zealand, and commit to embracing diversity, inclusion, acceptance, and equal opportunity for all genders and sexualities.

Resources and assets
There are a broad range of assets provided by Wear it Purple Day that can be used by your venue.

• Access the marketing resources from B-Connected: CLICK HERE
• View our social inclusion resources here: Social Inclusion Assets
  If you are an exception site or would like bespoke assets for a local event or initiative, please submit a marketing hub request at least three weeks prior to your event here: https://marketinghub.automaton.com.au/

Example social media posts

Event post
We are proud to celebrate Wear it Purple Day today! This year’s theme, ‘Your Passion, Your Pride,’ encourages us all to celebrate and support rainbow young people. We will be wearing purple in support of rainbow young people acknowledging that everyone has the right to be proud of who they are.

#WearItPurple #WiPD24 #YourPassionYourPride #WearItPurpleDay2024

Social Media Policy
If you require support in managing your social media community standards in line with Belgravia Leisure’s Social Media Policy, please contact or escalate to the Access & Inclusion team.

View our social media policy here: HR 8.04 Social Media Policy

• Explore our career opportunities.
• Learn more about our people.