Be a bystander - change the story
Amidst the horrific family violence landscape that dominates our news each day, many people ask, “what can I do to help.”
The bystander effect is not something new, but its effectiveness in calling out gender bias and disrespectful behaviour may say lives.
Gippsland Women’s Health prevention of violence and gender equality project coordinator
Fiona Passarin has been delivering Active Bystander training for eight years.
“The bystander effect is something everyone can do and we teach people to intervene in a safe way,” she says.
The bystander effect movement arose in New York in 1964 after the murder and rape of Kitty Genovese – an attack witnessed or heard by multiple bystanders.
Fiona’s active bystander training focuses on how people can safely intervene when they see, hear or have knowledge of disrespectful behaviour.
Her key message is: “The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.”
GWH has developed a bystander program specific for Gippslanders that reinforces the “Change The Story” framework that sets a national approach to preventing violence against women.
Fiona says the bystander effect is a significant focus of the national Change The Story framework.
“We help them to intervene when they see, hear or have knowledge…it could be a very confronting situation and being able to intervene takes a lot of courage.
She says a bystander is a person who is present and witnesses something but is not directly involved in it whereas
“The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.”
an active bystander is someone who not only witnesses a situation, but takes action to keep a situation from escalating.
Active bystanders are valuable allies in combating disrespectful behaviour, attitudes and systems and play a pivotal role in helping prevent incidents from occurring.
Fiona says active bystander training is about changing the culture of our society.
“It could be a sexist comment and we ask or challenge that person to use the right language.
“Intervening or stopping the victim at that point of time is a good place to start. And once people are armed with the right information, it gets easier and easier. A bystander has the potential to influence situations that may otherwise escalate to violence.
“We are supporting the person it’s directed at and at the same time it’s holding the perpetrator accountable.
“Sometimes women don’t resalise they are in a psychologically abusive situation. If someone steps in and says that’s not ok, it can often be the first stage of someone seeking help.
GWH’s Active Bystander is offered to individuals, community groups, sporting clubs and organisations that want to incorporate training into their gender equality action plans. Fiona says the GWH three hour training session give participants the basic tools to be active bystanders, with a focus on bystander safety.
Registrations are still open for Active Bystander training, presented by GWH, next Monday between 10am to 1pm. The training will:
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Support, guide, challenge and inspire you to be courageous in a safe way.
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Introduce new ways of thinking about intervention
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Teach you how to respond to disrespectful behaviour
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Allow you to reflect on situations - at home, work or in the community - and how you can apply bystander skills
For more information email: fiona.passarin@gwhealth. asn.au or to register go to: https://www.eventbrite. com.au/e/gippsland-womens-health-active-bystander-tickets-331586814087