Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you were witnessing harassment but you weren’t sure what you could do about it?
This guide can help.
What To Do If You Witness Harassment
Maeril, a French Middle Eastern artist living in Paris, created this guide with a focus on combating Islamophobia. However, as she said herself, it could be used for any type of harassment:
“… It also works for other ‘types’ of harassment of a lone person in a public space!!
However I’m focusing on protecting Muslims here, as they have been very specific targets lately, and as a French Middle Eastern woman, I wanted to try and do something to raise awareness on how to help when such things happen before our eyes – that way one cannot say they ‘didn’t know what to do’!”
A Breakdown Of What You Can Do
The strategy being employed here is non-complementary behavior. In layman’s terms, it’s empathy.
Maeril’s first directive is to ignore the attacker and focus all your energy on the victim.
Second, engage the person in any way you can. Talk about anything that comes to mind. It’s not about having a deep conversation right now; it’s about letting the person know you see them and that you’re acknowledging the situation.
Keep at it. Don’t give up. Continue to ignore the attacker.
The attacker may or may not leave. Stay involved until the person feels safe, but take your cue from them. If they say they’re fine, respect that and leave. If not, escort them to a safe space. Call someone for them, if they so desire.
The most important points are the two that Maeril made in her initial Tumblr post:
“1) Do not, in any way, interact with the attacker. You must absolutely ignore them and focus entirely on the person being attacked!
2) Please make sure to always respect the wishes of the person you’re helping: whether they want you to leave quickly afterwards, or not! If you’re in a hurry escort them to a place where someone else can take over — call one of their friends, or one of yours, of if they want to, the police. It all depends on how they feel!”
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Featured Image by Maeril via screenshot from Kick Next
