What would you do if you witnessed someone being bullied or racially abused? Do you know how to intervene safely, or what to say? Advocacy groups and researchers have called for more upstander intervention to combat discrimination. What happens when someone steps in to help?
What would you do if you witnessed someone being bullied or racially abused?
Do you know how to intervene safely, or what to say?
Recently our Chairperson Sabrina Chakman was interviewed for Podcast SBS Examines.
Courage to Care Victoria has been providing upstander training in Australian schools for over 30 years. Sabrina told SBS Examines hateful behaviour must be challenged.
“In general, it’s really about the sort of society we want to live in. There’s a social contract where we not only have rights, but we have responsibilities, and we have responsibilities to each other,” Sabrina said.
Sabrina explained that at Courage to Care we talk about all the forms of racism, including Islamophobia. The workshops also feature a Holocaust survivor’s story with an upstander message either told by the survivors themselves, in person, or by a custodian. Sabrina shares the story of her father who was saved by 3 upstanders.
The workshops are intended to be positive. We ask the students, Have you ever been an upstander? The sessions end with students making a plan for what they would do in the future, from supporting the victim to turning to trusted adults for help. Click here to watch Sabrina’s interview presented by NITV Radio colleague Ngaire Pakai.