Putting a “STOP” to gender-based violence
Jesus College is saying “Enough” to violence against women and girls as part of the annual international 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence.
The 16 Days of Activism is an annual international campaign which begins on 25 November, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, and runs until Human Rights Day on 10 December. This year, during this 16-day period, coasters produced by the Home Office as part of its national “Enough” campaign are available at the Roost Café to bring awareness to how we can all safely help if we see harassment. A simple pneumonic printed on the coaster, “STOP”, suggests four steps bystanders can take to help stop abuse: Say something, Tell someone, Offer support, and Provide a diversion.
The "Enough" campaign, launched nationally in the UK in 2022, highlights different forms of violence against women and girls and the simple acts that anyone can take to challenge harassment when they see it. Dr Sarah Steele, a Senior Research Associate at the Intellectual Forum, and Nimco Ali OBE, who was a Visiting Fellow at Jesus during the 2021-2022 academic year, both advised on the campaign, which includes television adverts, billboards, social media, and radio advertising.
The campaign specifically looks to forms of violence against women and girls, including street harassment, coercive control, unwanted touching, workplace harassment, revenge-porn, and cyber-flashing. Its advice about preventing these types of violence draws on the latest findings in behavioural science, including the importance of providing simple, clear options to overcome the barriers people can have to challenging abuse.
25 November marked the launch of a new phase of the “Enough” campaign, which sees the campaign join forces with over 30 UK universities in a bid to protect women and girls on university campuses.
Dr Steele said: “We all need to look at this national campaign, including the website, which provides more information on the steps people can take to safely challenge violence against women and girls, drawing on bystander training.”
Dr Steele has long been an advocate for widely-available bystander training. In 2022, she and the Intellectual Forum partnered with online education provider edX on the online module “Preventing and Responding to Sexual Harassment and Violence”, which equips bystanders to take action when they see poor behaviour, abuse, and violence. Since its launch, over 2000 people worldwide have taken the free course.
“The University of Cambridge and Jesus College have implemented bystander training now for over 6 years and have worked through edX to promote this internationally”, Dr Steele said. “I am delighted to see the Home Office get behind this approach and give every member of the public in the UK and beyond some clear options on challenging abuse when they see it”.
