GENEVA — BUENOS AIRES — PARIS — MADRID — NEW YORK. October 2026.
The Orange Protective Shields initiative is a free, worldwide prevention campaign created by Bullying Without Borders (BSF). Inspired by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama's words describing BSF as “orange protective shields against bullying,” the initiative promotes awareness, early intervention, and access to support for children and teenagers facing bullying or cyberbullying.
In Japanese, the initiative is known as オレンジ色のいじめ防止シールド.
Its message is simple, powerful, and universal: you do not have to face bullying alone. Help is available, and asking for it is a sign of strength.
A SHIELD THAT STANDS FOR PROTECTION
Bullying does not always leave visible scars. Humiliation, intimidation, threats, social exclusion, and online harassment can take a serious toll on a person's emotional well-being. For children and teenagers, speaking up may be especially difficult when they fear retaliation, embarrassment, or not being believed.
The Orange Protective Shields campaign was created around a fundamental principle: prevention must go beyond condemning violence. It must help people recognize abusive behavior, break the silence, and connect those affected with appropriate support.
The orange shield is the campaign's central symbol. It represents protection, solidarity, and hope—a reminder that every child deserves to feel safe, be heard, and receive help when something goes wrong.
ORANGE PROTECTIVE SHIELDS
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. SPEAK UP. ASK FOR HELP.
The initiative is designed to communicate this message across countries, languages, schools, communities, and digital platforms.
YAYOI KUSAMA AND THE CAMPAIGN'S INSPIRATION
The campaign acknowledges Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama in connection with the expression “orange protective shields against bullying.” BSF has adopted that imagery as a symbol of its commitment to protecting children and adolescents from bullying and cyberbullying.
The shield serves as a visual reminder that protection must be more than a slogan: it requires listening, taking reports seriously, and acting when someone is being harmed.
THREE ACTIONS THAT CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
The campaign is built around three practical steps.
1. RECOGNIZE BULLYING
Not every disagreement is bullying, and not every offensive remark constitutes cyberbullying. But repeated humiliation, intimidation, threats, deliberate exclusion, and other harmful behaviors must not be dismissed as harmless jokes.
Children and teenagers need to understand that being targeted is not their fault. Recognizing the warning signs is an important first step toward getting help.
2. BREAK THE SILENCE
Asking for help is not weakness. It takes courage to speak up when someone is being threatened, humiliated, or harassed.
The campaign encourages children and teenagers to talk to a trusted adult, parent, teacher, school counselor, or another responsible person who can listen, intervene, and provide support.
Reports of bullying should be taken seriously. Victims should not be blamed, pressured into confronting aggressors alone, or expected to solve the situation by themselves.
3. PROTECT AND SUPPORT
The responsibility for stopping bullying must never rest solely on the person being targeted.
Families, schools, communities, public institutions, and digital platforms all have a role to play. Their response should focus on protecting the victim, addressing the harmful behavior, preventing further exposure, and ensuring that appropriate support is available.
When there are immediate threats, serious danger, or a risk to someone's safety, the relevant emergency or protection services should be contacted.
BULLYING DOES NOT STOP WHEN THE SCHOOL BELL RINGS
For many children and teenagers, leaving school does not mean leaving the harassment behind.
Abusive messages, humiliating posts, threats, and the circulation of damaging images can follow a young person home and continue long after the school day has ended. Online content may be copied, shared, and viewed by a much wider audience, making it harder for victims to regain a sense of privacy and security.
That is why cyberbullying requires a response that combines education, prevention, support, and responsible intervention.
Telling a victim to switch off their phone or leave social media is not enough. Adults and institutions must also address the abusive conduct, use appropriate reporting channels, preserve relevant evidence when it is safe to do so, and seek professional assistance when needed.
The Orange Protective Shields campaign puts this principle into words that children and teenagers can understand: if someone is hurting you, you deserve to be heard, believed, and protected.
A SHARED SYMBOL FOR A WORLDWIDE MISSION
Orange is the official color of Bullying Without Borders and the defining color of this initiative. The shield represents protection, while the human figure at its center recalls the person behind every reported incident—a person whose dignity and safety must be respected.
The visual identity has been conceived for use in digital publications, printed materials, educational activities, and public-awareness campaigns. Its purpose is to be recognizable and accessible without resorting to graphic depictions of violence or exposing children and teenagers who have experienced bullying.
The campaign can be shared through prevention messages, educational resources, and materials intended for young people, families, teachers, and other responsible adults.
BSF emphasizes that prevention initiatives must respect victims' privacy, avoid retraumatization, and never turn their personal experiences into material for public exposure.
PROTECTION IS EVERYONE'S RESPONSIBILITY
No child or teenager should have to deal with bullying or cyberbullying alone.
Families can listen without judgment and make it easier for children to speak openly. Schools can follow established procedures, investigate reports, and monitor whether protective measures are working. Digital platforms can provide accessible reporting tools and respond appropriately to abusive content. Public institutions and civil-society organizations can help develop effective prevention, guidance, and protection services.
Peers also matter. Refusing to share humiliating content, declining to join in an attack, and standing beside someone who is being targeted can help interrupt the cycle of abuse.
But young people must not be made responsible for stopping bullying on their own. They need the confidence to recognize harmful behavior and ask for help, while adults and institutions fulfill their responsibility to intervene.
FREE FOR EVERYONE. EVERYWHERE.
Since its founding as a nongovernmental organization in Buenos Aires on May 2, 2012, Bullying Without Borders has promoted prevention initiatives in keeping with its commitment to public awareness and the protection of children and adolescents.
The Orange Protective Shields initiative is offered free of charge worldwide. No licensing fees or royalties are charged for its use.
The campaign is intended to be freely shared and reproduced, provided that its origin is properly credited and that the materials are not misrepresented or used to harm the people they are meant to protect.
“Orange Protective Shields Against Bullying and Cyberbullying”
A worldwide prevention initiative by Bullying Without Borders.
ANOTHER BSF INITIATIVE AGAINST BULLYING AND CYBERBULLYING
With Orange Protective Shields, Bullying Without Borders introduces a prevention and awareness initiative built around a clear visual identity and three concrete actions: recognize bullying, break the silence, and protect and support those affected.
Anti-bullying campaigns must do more than issue general statements. They should provide messages that people can understand and share, point victims toward trusted adults and appropriate support services, and encourage responses that put safety and dignity first.
The orange shield is intended to become a visible reminder of that commitment.
YOU ARE NOT ALONE. SPEAK UP. ASK FOR HELP.
Because asking for help should always be possible.
Because listening is where protection begins.
And because no child or teenager should ever have to face bullying or cyberbullying alone.
BULLYING WITHOUT BORDERS (BSF)
Preventing bullying and cyberbullying. Protecting children and adolescents.
Official website: https://bullyingsinfronteras.blogspot.com/
