The 'It Stops Now' campaign aims to build a culture of zero tolerance of sexual harassment and violence in third level institutions by raising awareness through active campaigning, and by developing training and policy resources for students and staff.
Developed as part of an European Union (EU) funded project, Ending Sexual Harassment and Violence in Third-Level Education (ESHTE) - 'It Stops Now' tackles sexual violence and harassment by engaging with Higher Education Institutes, creating cultural change, and enabling women to reach their full potential by promoting safe environments.
Although particular groups of students are more vulnerable to experiencing sexual harassment, all students are affected by this issue. It’s all of our responsibility to combat sexual violence and harassment, and third level institutes must play an active role in creating a zero tolerance culture ensuring students’ safety, well-being and full participation.
The project's Lead Partner is the National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI), working with Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS), Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) Cyprus, and Women's Issues Information Centre (WIIC) Lithuania.
This webinar is the second in a series of webinars that will cover issues stemming from our conversations and research with students and institutes across our partner countries. Dr Louise Crowley is Vice Dean and Senior Lecturer in the University College Cork (UCC) School of Law, where the department is leading an innovative Bystander Intervention initiative to help build a zero-tolerance culture towards any form of sexual violence or harassment is unacceptable.
In the webinar, Dr Crowley explores how this Bystander Intervention initiative gives students the skills and knowledge to support friends, classmates and peers in incidents where sexual violence and harassment has occurred or has the potential to occur. The initiative empowers students to intervene as a bystander, developing understandings of consent and healthy relationships, and challenging unacceptable verbal and physical behaviours. Having successfully piloted the initiative with law students, Dr Crowley shares the aim of reaching more students and wider audiences and outlines how other universities can implement the initiative for themselves.
The webinar was edited by Desmond Bros Media – Independent Youth Film Makers, studying at Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology (@desmondbros).
You can find out more about the ‘It Stops Now’ campaign at itstopsnow.org, or follow us on Twitter @ItStopsNow_EU and Facebook @ItStopsNowEU
It Stops Now Project Partners:
The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) | nwci.ie
Mediterranean Institute of Gender Studies (MIGS) Cyprus | medinstgenderstudies.org
The Women’s Issues Information Centre (WIIC) Lithuania | lygus.lt
Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS) | rapecrisisscotland.org.uk
This project is funded by the European Union.
