Show up against sexual violence

If it’s safe to directly intervene, you could:  

• talk to the person causing the problem and challenge their behaviour
• ask the person being targeted if they need help
• use non-verbal communication to show your support for the person being targeted, for example by standing next to them.

Remember that if you’re directly intervening, it’s important to stay calm and respectful to avoid escalating an incident.

Don’t intervene in a situation where you feel unsafe – instead, if you feel that the situation is an emergency and there’s an immediate threat to someone’s health or safety, call emergency services on 999. 

Examples of direct intervention

Your friend makes a rape joke. Instead of laughing along, you challenge them directly by asking them to repeat the joke and explain what’s funny about it. 

You’re out out with your mates. One of your friends is about to go home with someone they met at the club, and they’ve both clearly had way too much to drink. You know that neither of them are capable of giving consent, so you intervene directly and tell your friend they’ve had too much to drink and it’s time to go home.

To de-escalate the situation, you could try to distract the person causing harm by:

• spilling a drink or dropping something
• starting a conversation with the person being targeted
• asking the person being targeted or the person doing harm to help you with something.

Example of distracting someone

You’re at a house party. You notice one of your course mates is there, chatting with someone you don’t know. Your course mate looks really uncomfortable, and when you get closer you can overhear the other person making suggestive sexual comments.

You go over and say hi to your course mate and invite them to come catch up with you and some of your friends.

This method of intervention is an important way to let the victim or survivor know they’re not alone. To check in you could:   

• wait until after the incident and ask the person who was harmed if they’re okay
• tell them about where they can go for support, like the Harassment and Misconduct team
• ask if there’s anything you can do to help in the moment, like walking them to a safe place, helping them get home or calling a friend

Visit the how to support people who have experienced harassment page for advice on how to support someone who has experienced abuse, violence, harassment, discrimination, or bullying.   

Example of checking in

While studying in the library, you overhear a group comparing sexual experiences and ranking sexual partners. One of the people they’re discussing is sitting at your table.

You check in with the person to see if they’re okay, let them know the comments weren’t okay, and ask them how you can help.

You sit with them and fill out a disclosure form together so they can speak to the Harassment and Misconduct team.

Delegating is a great option when you don’t feel safe to intervene, but still want to take action to help. To delegate you could:   

• tell a lecturer or staff member if you’re on campus.
• talk to your Residence Life warden if the situation happened in a University residence.
• share your concerns with bar or door staff if you’re on a night out.
• report an incident to Security Services through the SafeZone app or by calling Security Services on +44(0)113 343 5494.

Example of delegating

You're hanging out in the common area of your residence hall and you overhear a group talking and laughing. You notice they’re sharing nude photos of someone else in the hall.

You don’t feel comfortable saying something to the group directly, so you report the incident to your Residence Life warden and submit a disclosure to the Harassment and Misconduct team.

If someone is already intervening and you think the situation is escalating, you can document so there’s evidence of what happened. Ways to document a situation are to:   

• record the situation on your phone  
• take a photo of the person causing harm   
• take notes about what’s happening   
• submit a disclosure about what you witnessed to the Harassment and Misconduct team.

Remember, never post or share a video of the person being harmed without consent. Posting or sharing can cause more harm than help.

Instead, after the situation is over, check in on the person who was harmed to see if they’re okay, let them know you have documentation, and ask them what they’d like you to do with it.   

Example of documenting the situation

While walking home late after class through Hyde Park, you see another student being sexually harassed. There’s already another person intervening directly, so you take a video of the situation instead to help provide evidence.

Afterwards, you check in on the person to see how you can help, share the documentation you have, and submit a disclosure to the Harassment and Misconduct team about what you witnessed.