In partnership with L’Oreal Paris
For most music fans, summer is all about festival season. It’s the highlight of the year. From watching your favourite artists perform to discovering your next big obsession, experiencing music surrounded by people who share the same passion is an unbeatable feeling.
And as life changing as festivals can be, for many, it’s not always for the better. A 2021 L’Oreal Paris and IPSOS study found that 80% of women have experienced sexual harassment in public spaces. Festivals aren’t a safe haven for all of us, with some harassment being so subtle it can be hard to spot.
Just think, how often do you see someone wrap an arm around a waist while moving through a crowd when a shoulder tap is justifiable? Or see flirtatious comments leading to an uncomfortable and unwanted one-sided conversation?
76% of people have witnessed sexual harassment happen in public spaces and 86% of these witnesses say there’s a lack of training on how to intervene. That’s why L’Oréal Paris is continuing their fight against street harassment in partnership with Right To Be and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust. Having trained 1.8 million people globally on how to intervene safely since 2020, this summer their ‘5D’s’ methodology is being brought to Luno presents All Points East to support and train festival goers in feeling confident and empowered to take action when they see something inappropriate.
Don’t be a bystander. It’s not about causing a commotion, but ensuring the victim’s safety and intervening in a way that shows harassment isn’t okay. Follow these five steps and you can help make festival season a safer and happier place for everyone.
Distract the perpetrator
Subtle intervention is the art of distracting. It’s a perfect method if you’re not feeling confident or 100% sure of how they’ll react as you can step in without acknowledging the harassment directly. Firstly, don’t give any time to the perpetrator, and instead, make conversation with the victim about something completely unrelated to draw attention away from the situation. They might be the right person to ask where your favourite act is playing, maybe you love what they’re wearing and need a detailed breakdown, or you might mistake them for a long-lost school friend and need a catch-up. Even if it’s not true, get chatting!
Another option is to drop something or cause a commotion so the attention moves away from the harassment. Does your pint conveniently spill their way (we’re not saying over them) or phone drop out of your hand right in front of them? Are you overly excited to see one of your friends, or start chanting in anticipation of the next act?
Once the conversation begins, assess safe intervention options and whether it’s possible to move between the perpetrator and victim so they can’t continue. Put that barrier in place and it’s all about safety in numbers.
Delegate by asking for help
Look out for someone in authority closeby who will be able to help. Security is your best bet, but if you can’t see any, do you have an assertive friend that can assist? Or if you think you might seem threatening to the victim when trying to help, is there someone around that is of a similar age, height or appearance that you can ask to go over?
When asking for help, give a clear description of both parties. Describe what they’re wearing and what they look like. Give a full account of what you saw and heard. Tell them what you want them to do to help. For example, say ‘That person wearing a black cap by the food stand is making the person in a red jacket uncomfortable, can you stand between them while I check if they’re okay?’.
Even if the police are closeby, don’t get them to intervene without checking with the victim first as they might not be comfortable or trust police involvement.
Document the harassment
Documenting an instance of harassment via filming can be really helpful in proving what happened and what was said, but you need to assess the situation first. Is the victim being helped? Are you a safe distance away?
If so, press record. Try to capture landmarks to identify the location. Are you by a particular stage? Namecheck the artist playing too so the date and time are included. Get a clear view of the incident and make sure what’s being said is getting picked up.
Once you’ve got the footage, ask the victim if they’re okay and what they want to do with it. Creating awareness of the incident online might seem helpful, but posting footage on social media can make a victim seem powerless. If that post goes viral without their knowledge, it’s not fair to broadcast the situation as they have no control over the post and the comments it receives.
Direct by speaking up
This method is the most direct by calling out and confronting the perpetrator.
Before you step in, assess the situation. Are you and the victim safe? Is the situation unlikely to escalate? Does the victim want someone to speak up? If you gave a yes to each of those, then a direct approach might be best.
Keep it short and avoid an argument, while keeping your focus on the victim instead of the perpetrator. A simple ‘leave them alone, that’s inappropriate’, or ‘that’s not okay’ can work perfectly.
Stick by the victim until the situation is over and check they’re okay afterwards.
Delay by comforting
If you can’t help in the moment, you can always make a difference by checking on them after. Keep an eye on them, and then go up to the victim once the situation has ended. Check if they’re okay and if you can get them anything – make sure they don’t feel alone.
Offer to sit with them for a while or if you can help them find their friends. They might just want to sit with you for five minutes in silence, but feeling looked after can drastically reduce their trauma. If you did capture or document what happened, now is the time to ask if they want the evidence. You can also offer to help them file a report at the welfare tent.
To find out more about the Stand Up Against Street Harassment Training you can take the introductory ten minute online here or register for a more detailed hour long in person session with the Suzy Lamplugh Trust here.