Learn how to become an active bystander and address sexual harassment and violence: free-to-enrol online course
No matter where we live, what industry we work in, or what role we have in the workplace, active bystander training is relevant to everyone. Research shows that practicing how to intervene can be a catalyst for action, allowing us to use our recall functions in those snap moments where we can make a real difference to prevent sexual harassment or violence.
Jesus College has partnered with online learning platform edX to teach people how to respond if they witness sexual harassment and violence, in the first course of its kind - available for free to anyone in the world with internet access.
Over the past five years, attention has been drawn to the issues of sexual harassment and violence around the world. We have seen a move from campaigns to break the silence, towards calls for action. With 86% of 18 to 24-year-old women in the UK identifying that they have experienced sexual harassment in a public place, and two in five women and one in five men identifying as experiencing unwanted sexual behaviour in the workplace, action across society is needed.
The many stories from movements like #MeToo have led to recognition that we need to prevent harassment and violence before they happen. We know that violence and harassment can be hugely detrimental to individuals - leading to impacts on physical health, mental health problems, including stress and anxiety - but they are also deeply corrosive and damaging in society, institutions and groups as behaviours and attitudes normalised and create moments where individuals feels they cannot speak up. When incidents happen, we also know that we need to respond more effectively and compassionately, supporting and empowering victim-survivors.
But how do we do this? How can we act ourselves and activate others, in our work environment, at home, and in our wider social relation to intervene?
Research from the last half century has helped us understand the social, neurological and environmental influences on our ability to act when we see something and our ability to judge how and when to intervene.
Free active bystander training
Join a range of international faculty, practitioners, survivors, and a global community of learners to master an active intervention approach. Delivered by Jesus College in the University of Cambridge, our edX module draws from multiple disciplines including social psychology, sociology, law, business studies, and public policy to explore the evidence about what you can do, and what actually works.
You will learn:
- What sexual harassment means
- Why sexual harassment occurs – and the role of culture and institutions in driving poor behaviour and violence
- How sexual harassment affects the workplace
- What to do when sexual harassment occurs
- The role of individuals and groups in addressing sexual harassment and violence
- What an active bystander is
- How to stay safe as an active bystander
This course will give you the tools to act, as well as applied insights through a wide range of real-world examples to help you think and respond in the workplace and other settings.
