I wear a safety pin on my jacket. It’s not because my jacket needs to be held together, nor do I have an infant in nappies at home, nor because I used to be a punk — I never was.

I wear my safety pin to show support for vulnerable people.

I’ve done so since mid-2016, when I saw the following tweet from @cheeahs who was dismayed the level of xenophobia and hate-crime being expressed in the UK post-Brexit, especially on public transport:

A safe person to sit next to on a bus, walk next to on a street, even have a conversation with.

— miss pommery 1926 ✊ (@cheeahs) June 26, 2016

The safety pin was picked up in the USA later that year after the presidential elections as a symbol to show support of vulnerable or marginalised people. I was delighted.

I still have it on my jacket – I’m not willing to let it go, even though I’ve never seen anyone else wear a safety pin in New Zealand. The #safetypin hashtag hasn’t seen any real action in awhile, even though the #PussyHat is still fashionable, but not really me.

I am still here.  I am still committed to supporting and standing with anyone marginalised, vulnerable or at the sharp end of bigotry.  I wear my safety pin with pride.