How You Can Participate in the 2021 Day of Silence

According to Pacer’s National Bullying Prevention Center, 70.1% of students who identify or are perceived as LGBTQ were verbally bullied in the past year, while 28.9% were physically bullied. A whopping 59.5% of LGBTQ students feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation. Iowa Safe Schools offers services to LGBTQ youth, their parents, and their educators across the state of Iowa, including an Affirming Resources Library and the Safe Schools Academy, which features a robust online course catalog that includes classes such as “Making Your Classroom Safe for LGBTQ Youth,” “Understanding and Supporting Trans Youth in Education Settings” and “A Very Queer History: LGBTQ History & Classroom Inclusion.” Iowa Safe Schools encourages students to advocate for safer and more inclusive schools in their own communities, including participating in GLSEN Day of Silence.

2021 Day of Silence

The national GLSEN Day of Silence, involving LGBTQ students and allies from around the world, is held annually every April. Students go through the school day without speaking and end the day with Breaking the Silence rallies and/or events that bring attention to the continued need for safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQ students.. On Friday, April 23, 2021, the GLSEN Day of Silence will take place at schools across Iowa and in Greater Des Moines (DSM), and there are many ways that you can participate in the event, both in-person and virtually. Note: This year’s Breaking the Silence rally is virtual.

Day of Silence Activities

To participate in the GLSEN Day of Silence, register here to receive resources from GLSEN and continue to be informed of monthly updates long after the event. You’ll also receive tips on hosting your own Breaking the Silence event to coincide with the national online event at 7 p.m. on Instagram. Whether you participate in-person or virtually, there are guides to help you plan activities and observe the day, as well as shareable resources for social media and Zoom. Other ideas to help you prepare include hanging up posters, shopping the GLSEN Shop and more. Read about all the ways you can prepare for tomorrow’s event here.

We hope you will be a part of the GLSEN Day of Silence in 2021! Iowa Safe Schools will continue to advocate on behalf of LGBTQ students through this event, as well as through ongoing programming and resources like the GSA Network, Schoolwide Pride Guide, Virtual Hangouts and the Queer Campus Coalition.

If you’d like to find out more about Iowa Safe Schools or support their work, you can do so at this link, and support GLSN here as a way to show your support of the 2021 GLSEN Day of Silence.

Greater Des Moines (DSM) welcomes diverse talent to the region. As one of the fastest growing business communities, inclusion and attracting diverse talent in the workplace is a key strategy of the Greater Des Moines Partnership. Learn more here.