Stand up against street harassment for Sexual Assault Prevention Month

Picture: Kitty Genovese, became the perennial icon for bystander apathy after her brutal attempted rape and murder in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York on March 13, 1964. ———————————————————————————————-

Let’s get a few things straight about sexual violence in Canada.

Over 87 per cent of survivors are women and girls.

1 in 3 women, and 1 in 6 men, will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.

Indigenous women and girls, children and adolescents, variously abled people, members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, and new Canadians are statistically more likely to experience sexual violence.

In 52 per cent of cases, the perpetrator was a friend, acquaintance, or neighbour.

94 per cent of offenders are men.

95 per cent of survivors do not report their assaults to the police.

Prevention means taking a proactive approach to stopping sexual violence before it happens. That means changing individual attitudes, values, and behaviours, as well as our institutions and laws.

The most common types of unwanted sexual behaviour experienced by women, and men, in public were unwanted sexual attention; unwanted physical contact, and unwanted comments about their sex or gender.

Whether it’s microaggressions or physical violence, a woman’s self-esteem, confidence, and worth are undermined with each incident. And, it has a cumulative effect.

If that harassment is a daily or monthly occurrence it can cause so much anxiety and trauma that women skip school or work to avoid the perpetrator. They may move homes or limit the public places they are willing to go to.

All of that really impacts their quality of life as well as their physical and mental health, financial earning power, and ability to fully participate in their community.

Feminist public educator Julie S. Lalonde,Canadian Program Leader for Right to Be, is helping people learn how to Stand Up Against Street Harassment for sexual assault prevention month.

Her fast-paced, one-hour online training will give you the confidence to intervene when you see harassment.

Using the 5 Ds of bystander intervention: distract; delegate; document; delay and direct, by-standers learn how to prioritize their own safety while effectively intervening.

Folks taking the training also learn how to safely respond if they are the target of unwanted harassment.

Currently, by-standers intervene in street harassment only 25 per cent of the time. That by-stander apathy is truly unfortunate, because 79 per cent of the time, the situation improved when a by-stander safely intervened.

This is where allyship really makes a difference because creating a ‘safety bubble’ removes the woman from danger and keeps her out of harms way. It also makes that woman feel seen which in itself is very empowering.

Lalonde provides non-confrontational intervention training that provides an exit strategy making it effective against a wide variety of harassments including racism, ablism, anti-Semitism or anti-Islamophobia.

If you notice something on the bus, subway or street that doesn’t seem quite right then check with your gut. If your instinct tells you that someone is being harassed then help crate that safety bubble.

If you are a woman being harassed, Lalonde also has three simple, non-confrontational steps for you to follow: trust your instinct; reclaim your space; and practice resilience.

Reclaiming you space may look like speaking directly to your harasser without sarcasm or joking. “I don’t know you!” “If you don’t stop, I’ll call the police.” “I’m recording you.”

Engage by-standers.

Document the harassment by recording it.

Lalonde reminds women that they need to practice resilience after an incident because it hurts and you’ll need to do some self-care whether that’s listening to music, talking it out with a friend, exercising or taking some time alone.

Right to Be collects the stories of folks who have experienced street harassment. You can contribute your story and read those of others when you create an account.

Find upcoming one-hour online training here.

Or, if you only have 20 minutes then take the 10-minute digital trainings for by-standers and training for when you experience street harassment.

Over 1,613,139 people worldwide have taken the training so far – so, what are you waiting for?