Wear it Purple Day
On ‘Wear it Purple Day’ everyone is encouraged to wear purple-coloured clothing. It is a day to take a stand against bullying and discrimination against young queer people and a day to celebrate queer life. Most importantly, the day is an invitation to Allys of queer people: by wearing purple, they show how many Allys exist everywhere and that nobody has to feel isolated.
Wear it Purple Day takes place on the last Friday in August every year . It was initiated in Australia in 2010 by Katherine Hudson and Scott William in response to the high suicide rates among queer young people (Youth Action Council n.d.). In September 2010, there were a number of suicides of young homosexual people in the USA, triggered by the homophobia they experienced. The month went down in history as the "September Suicides". This news caused shock not only in US society, but also internationally. It became clear that more awareness, education and prevention work was needed, as well as more attention for the queerness of young people.
One consequence of this realization was the "Wear it Purple Day". Public campaigns, workshops and purple clothing are used to draw attention to the lack of visibility of gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans*, intersex, non-binary and queer children and young people. The movement has now spread beyond Australia and the USA and is also being taken up in Germany, among other countries.
In Germany, studies show that homophobia and queerophobia are commonplace for many people. A publication by the Federal Criminal Police Office shows that crimes based on sexual orientation increased by almost 50% in 2023 compared to the previous year (Bundeskriminalamt 2024). Further studies from recent years show that the suicide attempt rate among LGBT young people is higher than that of heterosexual young people (Pfister & Mikolasek 2019).
"Wear it Purple Day" aims to raise awareness of the discrimination experienced by queer young people and the impact this discrimination can have on their mental health. At the same time, the day is intended to raise awareness of support structures and contact points for queer people and highlight the size of the queer community and its allies.
Last updated: August 2025
Sources (in German)
- Bundeskriminalamt (2024): Bundesweite Fallzahlen 2023 Politisch motivierte Kriminalität. Last accessed 08.08.2025.
- Pfister, Andreas & Mikolasek, Michael (2019): Suizidversuche von LGBT-Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen - Einschätzung der Machbarkeit einer qualitativen Untersuchung in der Schweiz. Last accessed 08.08.2025.
- Youth Action Council (YAC) (no Date): Why we Wear It Purple! Last accessed 08.08.2025.