Innovative Campaign Launching To End Sexual Violence In Social Spaces, With New Education And Outreach Programme
A new spunout.ie campaign wants to help young people have safer social experiences in a post lockdown world.
This will include information pieces, articles and resources about how to recognise sexual violence and, crucially, how to address it in a non-confrontational way.
Sexual violence is common and ranges from sexist jokes and unwanted touching, to sending unwanted naked pictures, sexual assault and rape.
Being aware of all types of sexual violence is the first step in giving people the skills and confidence to safely intervene or speak out against it when it happens.
The ‘Better Than Before’ campaign aims to equip young people with the information they need and the tools they can use to challenge and respond to everyday scenarios of sexual violence.
“Coming out of Covid lockdown we all have a responsibility to try and create better and safer social spaces that can be enjoyed by all.
To do this it means that if we see harmful behaviour we do something to address it and don’t assume that someone else will.
We all have a part to play in ending the cycle”said Kiki Martire, Director of spunout..ie.
“People labeling acts of sexual violence as “fun” or a “joke” are justifying behaviour that they know is wrong.
This continues a culture that makes excuses and minimises the mistreatment of others.
We need to acknowledge the full range of sexually violent behaviours as unacceptable” said Kiki.
This bystander engagement campaign highlights young people's lived experiences of sexual violence, how it impacted them, how the support they received shaped their experience and recovery, and what their call to action is for others.
Messages from 3 such young people who shared their stories include:
Learning to identify and notice the spectrum of sexually violent behaviours.
Not being afraid or ashamed to tell someone what you’re going through.
Intervening to break the cycle and support someone.
Listening and lending support to those who have experienced sexual violence.
Letting them know it's not their fault.
"I wish that someone had told me that I wasn’t in the wrong and that no one had a right to put me in that situation" said Mary Cassidy.
The campaign will share their experiences but also prompt others to reflect on how we are all part of the problem and part of the solution; we can share our methods and plans to intervene in situations of sexual violence, to take notice and take action for an Ireland #BetterThanBefore.
As part of this campaign spunout is asking others to share their stories of how an intervention against sexual violence impacted their lives and how they are planning on addressing sexual violence in the going forward.
Using the #BetterThanBefore, young people can give examples such as how calling out sexist language or helping someone being harassed on a night out positively changed a culture of sexual violence.
They can also pledge to a change they are going to make in their lives, such as reporting sexual violence online or speaking to a friend if they think they are behaving inappropriately.
“This campaign would not be possible without expert guidance and support provided by our partners the UCC Bystander Intervention Programme, the Kerry Rape and Sexual Abuse Centre and the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.
So many young people experience sexual violence without even realising.
People having a conversation or sending texts in which they sexually demean and objectify someone without their consent is sexual violence, and it contributes to wider patterns where healthy and equitable relations are scarce and sexual assault, rampant”said Kiki Martire, Director of spunout.ie.
Anything of a sexual nature that’s unwanted is a type of sexual violence.
Calling someone a slut without consent is sexual violence, being wolf-whistled at is sexual violence, being pressured into a date is sexual violence.
The more people understand what sexual violence is, the more they can learn to intervene or call it out when they see it, and make changes to their own behaviour.
We all have a part to play” continued Kiki.
Some of the “Better Than Before” intervention tips are as follows:
If you witness street harassment, you can pretend you know the person being harassed and begin talking to them to help cause a distraction.
If you’re concerned that someone is too drunk or high to consent to sexual activity, you can intervene, by asking them if they want to go to the bathroom and checking in to see if they are okay.
If you’re on a night out and witness somebody trying to kiss or touch somebody without their permission, refusing to leave them alone after they have asked them to, or trying to dance with them even though they keep moving away, you can dance with the person to move them away from the harasser, tell someone working at the bar/club about the person’s behaviour and ask for them to be removed or you can ask your friends to help you intervene in the situation.
The “Better Than Before” campaign will also include tips on supporting someone who has experienced sexual violence and what to do if you’ve experienced sexual violence yourself.
As always, spunout would like to remind everyone that if the topic of sexual violence has left you feeling distressed, or you’d like someone to talk to about how you are feeling right now, you can always freetext SPUNOUT to 50808 for any time of day or night for support.
Lastly, as part of the campaign, spunout has partnered with the Bystander Intervention Programme at UCC to offer online training to a select number of young people around the country.
The training will offer young people practical examples of how to intervene safely against everyday experiences of sexual violence.
From speaking to friends about their behaviour, to helping strangers in public incidents, participants will gain the skills to confidently intervene and help create the social change they want to see.
