Friday 30-04-2021 - 10:50

Back in Freshers’ Week, we trained 550 students in Active Bystander Intervention, educating them on how to identify consent, coercion and control, and empowering them to intervene in potentially harmful situations. We are proud to have now hired 15 new student peer facilitators who recently delivered this course to over 170 more students! 

Annabelle Bulag, SJCR Welfare Officer at St. John's College, helped deliver the training: “It feels so rewarding to think that the training we’re delivering could have a positive impact on someone’s life, to think that we’re equipping members of our community with the skills to help create safer and more inclusive environments.”

170 more active bystanders in Durham is a great achievement. But let’s not stop there. 

As part of Recommendation Seven of the Respect Commission, the University has committed to rolling out the Active Bystander Intervention course to all staff and students, and I am pleased to see the University pushing this recommendation forward. Recently, there have been recruitment drives for two new EDI Learning and Development Practitioners, who will both oversee the operationalisation of the Active Bystander training, as well as develop further modules that expand this training beyond its current focus on consent, coercion and control. 

A key concern that I have addressed is the worry that the current course will be appropriated, taking a “one size fits all” approach to promote anti-racism, tackle classism, and so on. Nonetheless, I am clear that the current course must retain its focus on tackling sexual misconduct and violence, and that further bespoke modules should be developed on other issues to give those topics the proper time and space they require.  

We know that Active Bystander training is highly successful in empowering individuals to prevent potentially harmful situations from occurring, as shown by the 97% of people who stated that they would be more likely to intervene after having received the training. However, we also need training that investigates why certain individuals feel as though the harmful behaviours they display are acceptable. We need training which forces us to constructively come face-to-face with our privilege, acknowledge the power that comes with it, and reflect on how this is manifested in our behaviour. 

I have recently raised this point with the “Respect Project Manager”, who is currently conducting a training needs analysis to identify the focus of the bystander intervention training that the University develops in order to successfully effect behavioural change, as well as any further needs in the space of EDI related training. 

It is my hope that the University’s commitment to putting these resources into developing new training for students will provide a foundation for much needed behavioural and cultural change. 

If you would like to share any thoughts you have about the future of Active Bystander or other EDI related training to inform the current training needs analysis, please get in touch with me at su.welflib@durham.ac.uk. Further, if you’re interested in receiving the current Active Bystander training, or would like to arrange for a session for your group, please contact imogen.charvill-ryall@durham.ac.uk