UN Free & Equal’s “Purple the World” video – Photo: UN Free & Equal.
The United Nations has partnered with GLAAD to call for more action against anti-LGBTQ bullying.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Free & Equal campaign have partnered with the LGBTQ media advocacy organization as part of Spirit Day.
As part of the partnership, UN Free & Equal — a global public information campaign aimed at promoting equal rights and fair treatment of LGBTQI people internationally — has created an video, “Purple the World,” advocating the end of bullying against, and promoting acceptance of, LGBTQI youth.
To commemorate Spirit Day, UN Free & Equal has also created a landing page where visitors can educate themselves about human rights concerns facing LGBTQI youth.
Users can also learn how allies, teachers, and governments can support those children, including: intervening when bullying occurs; creating support groups; teaching about the contributions of LGBTQI individuals; and repealing any laws that criminalize LGBTQI individuals or leave them exposed to potential discrimination.
“The UN Human Rights office is proud to stand up for the human rights of young LBGTI people on Spirit Day — and every day,” Veronica Birga, chief of OHCHR’s Women’s Human Rights and Gender Section and the head of UN Free & Equal, said in a statement.
“No child should be bullied for who they are or whom they love,” Birga said. “We all have more power than we think to stop bullying and to build societies where all young people, in all their diversity, can grow and thrive. Together we can stop hatefulness and embrace freedom, dignity and equality.”
Coinciding with National Bullying Prevention Month, Spirit Day began in 2010 after then-high school student Brittany McMillan created a Tumblr post asking students to wear purple — the color representing “spirit” in the LGBTQ Pride flag — to call attention to the suicides of several youth who were either LGBTQI or perceived as belonging to the LGBTQI community.
The event has since grown in scope, with major companies, workplaces, and individuals donning purple clothing, changing their corporate logos to purple, or taking other actions to express support LGBTQI youth and demonstrate their opposition to bullying and discrimination.
GLAAD, the LGBTQ media advocacy organization, has been one of the biggest promoters of Spirit Day.
“We are so honored to be partnering with UN Free & Equal this year to take the fight against anti-LGBTI bullying to a global level,” Sarah Kate Ellis, the president and CEO of GLAAD, said in a statement. “By using its platform to call on leaders and governments to address the issue of bullying on Spirit Day, UN Free & Equal plays a crucial role in amplifying the message that we will continue to fight for a world where LGBTI youth are fully safe and accepted.”
According to GLSEN’s most recent National School Climate Survey, 70% of LGBTQI students in the United States report that they’ve been verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Nearly 3 in 5 LGBTQI students say they feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and more than 2 in 5 say they feel unsafe or targeted because of their gender identity.
Five teenagers have been charged with assault after attacking and breaking the jaw of a transgender girl housed in a boys' unit at D.C.'s Youth Services Center.
The assault was one of two separate fights that erupted at the juvenile detention center on July 7. According to NBC affiliate WRC-TV, the 88-bed facility was over capacity by 17 people that day, per DYRS data.
The D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services said the fights were unrelated and staff were present during both incidents, quickly working to de-escalate the situations.
Mi SELA, an LGBTQ youth center in Bell, California, has faced repeated vandalism that advocates link to a climate of hate fueled by the Trump administration.
An LGBTQ resource center in Los Angeles has been repeatedly targeted by an unknown vandal tossing bags of dog feces, many of which land on the building’s front entrance ledge.
The center, Mi SELA -- a partnership between the Los Angeles LGBT Center and the Latino Equality Alliance, now approaching its second anniversary -- said the vandalism began in recent months.
"This senseless harassment is abhorrent and unacceptable," the Latino Equality Alliance said in a statement. "In 2025, it is shocking that young people and community organizations continue to face such targeted hate and intimidation."
Misha Brown, a 37-year-old influencer, actor, and host of the Wondery podcast The Big Flop, revealed in a TikTok video on July 17 that he had received an apology from his former high school bully -- 20 years after graduation -- after the bully's 15-year-old son came out as gay.
"Hey man, I just felt like I needed to tell you that I'm sorry I was a damn jerk in school," the message read. "Really, I'm sorry. But I've been following what you've done lately and it's really cool. I'm proud of you. You're like really helping people. The reason I wanted to tell you all this is I've got a son now. He's 15, and he told me he's gay. Man, all I thought about when he told me that was how I hope people are nicer to him than I was to you. It makes me proud to be his dad. And hopefully that makes up for something."
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