Being an active bystander means that we don’t stand by when we witness troubling behaviour; instead we strive to take action and ensure that Keele continues to feel like a safe, fun and accepting place to be.
Troubling behaviour might include homophobic, racist or sexist jokes, or discrimination; or taking advantage of a power imbalance, like status, size or level of inebriation. Power dynamics are often involved in cases of sexual violence, relationship violence, bullying or harassment.
We want our students to feel confident in challenging these types of behaviour, or otherwise intervening safely and effectively. For more information on being an active bystander, and how a situation can be changed, watch this 8 minute video from the Who are you? campaign from New Zealand.
If you are an academic and would like to discuss how to incorporate an active bystander session into your course, please email student.services@keele.ac.uk
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