Stand Up Against Harassment, bystander intervention

What would you do if you saw harassment taking place? Would you ignore it and walk past, or would you want to help but might not know how to?

There are many ways to intervene, and it doesn’t always involve you telling the perpetrator directly to leave someone alone. Bystander training is an effective way to learn different ways of intervening when you see harassment taking place all whilst keeping yourself safe. With 80% of women reporting that they have experienced harassment and 88% of people experiencing some form of unwanted behaviour on public transport, it is crucial that we all work together to help stop harassment from taking place.

The Trust has been delivering Stand Up Against Harassment training to the public and organisations around the UK, including to university students, park staff and volunteers, large corporations, and everyone else in between. It’s not just for women, it’s for everyone. Stopping harassment doesn’t have to be all on you. If you don’t feel comfortable asking the person who is being harassed if they are ok, you could ask someone else to help you. The aim is to stop the harassment completely and to hopefully get the person perpetrating it to recognise that their behaviour is unacceptable. Everyone has the right to feel safe and to be themselves without the threat of being harassed. Our course is packed with information and practical suggestions that delegates can take away with them.

As one of our training consultants explains, “people can tune in on their lunch break from anywhere in the country, all with a shared aim; to make a positive difference and stand up against behaviours that can have such a negative impact on people’s lives. It’s a really nice way to come together and consider how we can make a difference in our communities, in a safe but effective way, to help move towards a world where we can all be who we are, wherever we are!”

These 30-minute webinars are free to attend, and with weekly sessions available, I would encourage you all to join one to really understand how you can help. You aren’t expected to be the hero, but we all have a role to play in supporting people being harassed.

#StandUpAgainstHarassment #WeStandUp #RightToBeSafe Suzy Lamplugh Trust