A Community Group in Nenagh is leading a pilot project to create awareness of the concerns facing women on a daily basis – primarily caused by men.
Absolutely not! Women face these issues in every community, every day, in Ireland.
Comments on appearance, sexist banter and jokes, unwanted physical contact, cat-calling, sending unsolicited explicit images on your phone.
And sometimes worse…..
It is true that the vast majority of men do not directly participate in these behaviours but……… all men can be part of the solution.
- Have you ever heard a comment or a joke within the circle of your friends that would easily fall into one of these examples?
- Ever received a text, image or video in your group chat that made you feel uncomfortable and you didn’t respond?
- Witnessed something on a night out but didn’t challenge a friend?
You read it, you hear it or you see it – It doesn’t register as a problem.
“It’s a bit of craic – we were only joking”
Unless you start to recognise that these issues are REAL for women in our town, then nothing will change.
Why don’t you ask any woman you know, whether during the day or night, if she has:
• Taken a longer route home.
• Held her keys between her fingers.
• Made a fake phone call.
• Been catcalled.
• Received an unwanted image by text.
• Felt uncomfortable in public spaces.
• Been inappropriately touched on a night out.
1. Recognise that these issues are a reality for women in Nenagh’s community.
2. Accept personal responsibility to change your own behaviour.
3. And one more thing - you have a choice to make.
Do you continue to remain as a passive bystander or do you step up and play an active role in challenging your friends, your work colleagues or even family members to recognise that this is a problem that we must eradicate for the betterment of our community.
Passive bystanders are people who choose, for whatever reason, to ignore the situation, or do nothing about it.
Active bystanders are people who do something to try and improve the situation.
The term bystander effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress. In a series of classic studies researchers found that the amount of time it takes the participant to take action and seek help varies depending on how many other observers there are.
See examples in attached videos
https://youtu.be/Wy6eUTLzcU4
https://youtu.be/yT9xtrLLPFc
https://youtu.be/w8EtYRTTqlg
https://youtu.be/shuuTOMCKZ8
Bystander Intervention is recognizing a potentially harmful situation or interaction and choosing to respond in a way that could positively influence the outcome.
- Be willing to speak up in difficult situations.
- Be direct and tell someone if their behaviour is out of line.
- Do not assume that just because no one else speaks up, that everyone else is fine with what is happening.
- If you step up and speak out, others will likely back you up.
- Be conscious of your use of language and choose words carefully.
- Be aware of, and refuse to use, sexist, homophobic, and demeaning language.
- Don’t joke about sexual assault; comments and jokes that are meant to “ease the tension” or are “just kidding around” can trivialize the severity of the behaviour.
Intervention does not have to mean conflict. Sometimes it is enough to cause a distraction or just disrupt the current course of events. Remember that it is never too early or too late to do something.
Some psychologists believe that simply being aware of the bystander effect could make us all more likely to react.
After all — if we know it can happen, we might be more determined to make sure we aren’t the ones that stood by and let something horrible occur.
You are part of this community and we encourage you to help your friends, colleagues and family members to identify unacceptable behaviour and call it out. If more of us don’t step up and speak out, we are part of the problem.
The next time you identify inappropriate language or behaviour towards women in your group chat, in the corridors of your school, in your workplace, on a night out or in your sports club, don’t wait for someone else to intervene you know what to do.
STEP UP TO INTERVENTION
Your community is right behind you
Acknowledgements
From the outset, the committee has been inspired by Professor Louise Crowley and her Bystander Intervention Programme in UCC.
https://www.ucc.ie/en/bystander/about/ Louise has encouraged the team to develop the community idea using her UCC programme as a foundation and we thank her profusely for her support.
An Garda Siochana
Freephone: 999/112
If you are deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or have a speech impediment: Text 112.
You need to register your phone on www.112 before using this service.
Womens Aid
Website: www.womensaid.ie
Free phone Help Line: 1800 341 900
Email: info@womensaid.ie
Mens Aid
Website: www.mensaid.ie
Support Line: 01-5543811
Email: hello@mensaid.ie
Mens Aid operates Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm
Child Line
Website: www.childline.ie
Free Text: 50101
Free phone Help Line : 1800 66 66 66 (24hrs, 365 days a year)
Online Live Chat: https://www.childline.ie/
Rape Crisis Help
Website: www.rapecrisishelp.ie
Free phone helpline 1800 77 8888
Text service 0868238443, Mon-Fri, 8:00-18:30.
One in Four
Website: www.oneinfour.ie
Telephone: 01 662 4070
Email: info@OneInFour.org
Pieta House
Website: www.pieta.ie
Text: HELP to 51444
Free phone helpline: 1800 247 247
Email: info@pieta.ie
Safe Ireland
Website: www.safeireland.ie
Phone : 090 6479078
Email: info@safeireland.ie
Ascend Domestic Abuse Service for Women
County: Tipperary
Tel: 087-9501299 (Office Line)
Helpline: 0505 23999
Email: ascend@ntdc.ie
Access Hours: Monday to Friday 9am – 5pm
©2024 Nenagh.ie. Website by The Smart Group
