Dasvand
1 in 3 Sikh Students Report Faith-Based Bullying
Brampton (October 14, 2025): The World Sikh Organization of Canada (WSO) has released the third edition of its report, The Experience of Sikh Students in Peel & Surrounding Areas, the first update since 2016. The 2025 report reveals deeply troubling findings about the persistence and rise of bullying and discrimination faced by Sikh students in Ontario schools, particularly within the Peel District School Board.
Based on surveys of 380 Sikh students across Ontario, including 252 from Peel, the report found that 34.47% of students reported being bullied because of their Sikh identity, up from 26.9% in 2016.
Key Findings
- Bullying has increased from 26.9% (2016) to 34.47% (2025).
- Students wearing visible articles of faith, including a dastaar or kirpan, reported bullying at 38%.
- 51% of bullied students said their schools were not helpful, a steep decline from 2016 when over half found their schools responsive.
- 19% of students reported feeling uncomfortable at school because of their Sikh identity.
- Mispronunciation of names, exclusion, and teasing about food or appearance were common experiences.
- While teaching about the Sikh faith in classrooms increased from 37% (2016) to 55% (2025), only 39% of students felt Sikhs were respected in their schools.
WSO will be engaging directly with school boards across Ontario, starting with the Peel District School Board, to ensure that the concerns and experiences of Sikh students are heard and addressed. The organization will also advocate for the implementation of key recommendations from the report, including a Sikh Student Success Strategy, mandatory anti-Sikh hate training for educators, and the creation of Sikh Student Advisory Councils.
WSO President Danish Singh said today,
“This report is a call to action. We had heard from students that bullying was getting worse and the survey results now show that this is in fact the case. We cannot accept that Sikh students continue to be bullied or made to feel unwelcome for expressing their faith. School boards need to do more and must take immediate, measurable steps to ensure that every Sikh student feels safe, respected, and supported.”
The WSO will be sharing the findings of The Experience of Sikh Students in Peel (2025) with trustees, educators, and policymakers, and will seek formal commitments from school boards to adopt the report’s recommendations. The organization will also continue working with community partners to deliver workshops, resources, and training aimed at creating safer and more inclusive learning environments.
The World Sikh Organization of Canada is a non-profit national organization with a mandate to promote and protect the interests of Canadian Sikhs as well as to promote and advocate for the protection of human rights of all individuals.