India Rose Marriott
Working in collaboration with Communities Inc, Nottingham’s Women’s Aid is hosting a series of workshops entitled ‘Stand by Her’, aimed to help men understand sexual harassment and abuse faced by women. India Marriott reports on the workshops and the impact they could have.
The BBC recently reported on a new Nottingham based project aimed at educating men on how they can help the women in their lives tackle gender-related harassment and abuse. Throughout the series of workshops, men are asked to reflect on their personal experiences, whilst being given advice about how they can work towards becoming a better ally to women. The workshops also delve deeper into topics such as avoiding harassment escalating and spotting the signs of when help is needed for victims. The aim of these workshops is to empower men to put what they have learned to practice and educate others in their communities.
Sharmsher Chohan of Communities Inc told the BBC, “It’s not a programme aimed at perpetrators. This programme will help to give men the skills, knowledge and confidence to be more effective in helping women when they see them getting unwanted attention, and also raise their confidence when speaking to other men in their networks.”
The project aims to expand nationwide
Women’s Aid’s Erin Devitt went on to add, “What we wanted to do is be dynamic, and look at masculinity not just as toxic masculinity, which we see the response to and the effects of, but to support men to use healthy masculinity to support women. We’re not asking to be rescued by men, we’re asking to be supported.”
With more sessions planned in Greater Manchester and London, the project aims to expand nationwide.
For more information regarding the work that Communities Inc and Women’s Aid do, check out their respective websites here and here.
India Rose Marriott
Featured image courtesy of bill baker via Flickr. Image licence found here. No changes were made to this image.
For more content including Uni news, reviews, entertainment, lifestyle, features and so much more, follow us on Twitter and Instagram, and like our Facebook page for more articles and information on how to get involved.
To keep up to date with all the latest Impact News, you can also follow us on the Impact News’ Facebook and Twitter page.
