Just do it! Standing up to sexual violence

Inspired and adapted from ‘Just do it’, a video in RFSU’s “Do you want to?” series, rfsu.se/villdu

Duration of activity: 35-40 min

Learning objectives:

Explore the barriers holding young people from intervening in the event that they have witnessed /become aware of an incidence of sexual violence
Help young people identify ways they can use to intervene when they have witnessed or have become aware of incidences of sexual violence in their surrounding environment
Raise awareness on our responsibility as bystanders and how important it is not to stay silent

Materials needed:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=9&v=tWT88a-dGYY&feature=emb_logo/ (just do it)

Worksheet with questions to guide a discussion on the video

Step by step process of the activity:

Introduction: Sometimes, when we have witnessed or have become aware of an incidence of abuse, intervening can feel difficult. While it is indeed hard, it is important that we find some strategies for doing something and not normalizing sexual assault. If we have a chance to explore possible ways of intervention, then it will be easier for us to know what to do in such incidences.
Separate the plenary in 5-6 groups in a fun and interactive way. Estimate each group to have 4-5 persons maximum.
If there are tablets/mobile phones available for young people to use, they can go online and use the link to watch the video delegated to their group. Alternatively, you can show the video on the projector, in plenary.
The groups can then discuss the questions about the video (given out as a handout) for 15 minutes
Come back to plenary and discuss the questions all together

Facilitation questions for reflection and debriefing: (20 min)

What are your thoughts while watching the video?
Is it easy to react in such situations? What can hold us back?
What is the video trying to show?
What makes Alex unsure about intervening? What holds him back?
If you remember, Alex had said: ‘It is Filip! The guy who bakes muffins and writes romantic songs”. What does he mean by that? What is he trying to do by saying that?
Why is Hasan insisting that they should intervene? What gives him that ‘bad gut-feeling’?
What do you think is motivating Hasan to take action?
How do you think the two boys are feeling about having to stand up to a guy they know who is doing something that is not okay?
Do you think the fact that both Alex and Hasan decide to take action together has helped them to have the courage to stand up to Filip?
How did the story continue?
What could Hasan and Alex do to address what may have happened between Filip and the girl (Example: ask the girl if she is okay; ask Filip what he’s doing; find the girl’s friends; look for other allies; look for an adult; “accidentally” interrupt etc.)
How could Alex and Hasan’s intervention help out the girl?
How could Alex and Hasan’s intervention help out Filip?
Why is it still important to intervene if you see something happening that does not feel okay?
What can you do to overcome your fears that something may go wrong or ensure that your stay safe when you take action (don’t do it alone and always look for other allies, try to get an adult involved, call security/the police if things are getting out of hand etc.)

Take home messages and activity wrap up:

It is not always easy to react when we have witnessed an incidence of abuse. We might be afraid that we may make things worse, or we are worried of how the people around us will react, and sometimes we might know both the people involved in the incidence and that feels awkward, as we’re unsure where our loyalties lie. We may also try to justify the person exercising the violence, as a way to excuse what happened and abstain from taking action. However, not taking action for whatever reason only helps to normalize the abuse and sends a message that such behaviours are acceptable.

When we have that bad feeling in our stomach, it is an indication that something is wrong. Taking action stops the unhealthy behaviour from escalating, provides support to the person experiencing the abuse, reflects to the abuser that their behaviour is not okay and thus gives the opportunity to rectify things and also helps change social attitudes about the acceptance/normalization of violence.

There are many ways to take action against such incidences: ask the girl if she is okay; challenge/question Filip’s actions by asking him what he’s doing; find the girl’s friends and ask for their support; look for other allies; ask for an adult to intervene; “accidentally” interrupt and try to divert Filip’s attention elsewhere; ensure that you’re safe when taking action, never react alone etc. Some additional intervention strategies are also listed under the theoretical section 14.1 A toolbox of intervention strategies for bystanders

Tips for adapting the activity and follow up:

If you have time, you can ask young people to enact their endings to the story instead of just reading it out. This would make the activity more fun and interactive. You can have all groups enact their ending and then hold a wrap up discussion in plenary about all the possible outcomes. The focus of this discussion needs to be on how young people can overcome their fears that something may go wrong if they interfere and also explore what ways of interfering could prove useful in such situations.

Adapting the activity for online implementation

● An easy way to adapt this activity is by substituting face to face small groups with breakout rooms. Participants can watch the video in their groups and discuss the questions in the worksheet.

● You can then wrap up the discussion in plenary using the facilitation questions.

● To keep the participants further engaged during the discussion in plenary you can use a short online quiz . For instance, possible questions for the quiz could include:

○ What makes Alex unsure about intervening? What holds him back?
○ Why is Hasan insisting that they should intervene?
○ What could Hasan and Alex do to address what may have happened between Filip and the girl?
○ How could Alex and Hasan’s intervention help out the girl?
○ How could Alex and Hasan’s intervention help out Filip?

● You’ll need to pre-work some possible answers to these questions (you can use the take home messages to guide you).