Ten years ago, a Professor at UCC created the Bystander Intervention Program, and its impact is immeasurable.
The bystander intervention program began in 2015 and was created by Professor Louise Crowley. She said she was “troubled by the normalisation of everyday sexual hostility and harassment being experienced by such a large number of students.” Professor Crowley had the desire to give students a platform to find support in the event they became victims of sexual assault or harassment. She also wanted UCC to create a program where people could gain an understanding of what is inappropriate behaviour. The program is now delivered online across most campuses in Ireland.
The Defence Forces have employed Professor Crowley to deliver compulsory sexual ethics and respectful relationships training to its members. Women make up only seven per cent of the defence forces, according to Professor Crowley the Defence Forces were “always predominantly men.” She had originally been a speaker for women’s day events. Still, in the wake of the Women of Honour scandal and the Independent Review Group on Dignity and Equality issues in the Defence Forces, they asked Professor Crowley if she could give her training to their members. By the end of May, Crowley believed she would have reached 40 per cent of the Defence Forces which is about 4,000 people.
Professor Crowley has also delivered the bystander program to members of both Dáil Éireann and Stormont in Northern Ireland. She has delivered a “bespoke bystander training piece to some of the high-level civil servants up there” in NI. It is a part of Northern Ireland’s strategy to end violence against women and girls. Professor Louise claimed, “They recognise the importance of empowering individuals to address the behaviours” that lead to violence against women.
According to Women’s Aid, about 51 per cent of women in Ireland have experienced either mental, physical, or sexual abuse from a partner since the age of 15. Professor Crowley is “all for” the Bystander Intervention Program brought to secondary schools; she is currently delivering her program to Transition Year students in about 50 schools nationwide. She believes it is important to give this training to teens because “by the time they get to university, for many it is too late. They have already experienced significant and life-changing sexual violence.” Professor Crowley claimed that her training should be given earlier to young people and that they should be taught that they are entitled to a respectful life and should not have to experience sexual violence at popular events like teen discos.
The UN reported that almost a quarter of girls aged 15 to 19 have experienced physical or sexual violence from a partner. In the United States of America aout 1/9 high school girls reported experiencing sexual violence while dating.
Professor Louise Crowley believes that this training is critical for all of society because, “people at every generation need the education in order to be able to know better, speak better, respond better and support better.”