L’Oréal Paris launched an international Stand Up Against Street Harassment campaign that was announced on International Women’s Day on 8th March this year. The campaign has set the bar high for other communication messaging for brands.

Street sexual harassment, which is also known as sexual harassment in public spaces is the #1 issue faced by women and girls all over the globe. And it’s high time someone spoke up against it.

Extensive research was conducted by Loreal, on sexual harassment in public spaces in the U.S., UK, Canada, France, Mexico, Italy, and India.

Let’s fight against Street Harassment

Street harassment is a demeaning experience and encounter that devalues even men, women or people of any sexual orientation. The worst part, however, is when we watch it without intervening or offering help. Because most of the times people do not know how to react and respond in such instances.

When we watch it happen and fail to intervene, the trauma deepens for the person who is being harassed. It validates the harasser that he is right. Loreal Paris wanted to disrupt this dynamic.

78% of women have experienced sexual harassment in public spaces while only.25% said that someone helped, according to a survey.

This is what the L’oreal Paris’s official website says:

We see it happen, but uncomfortably look away. We feel the urge to speak up, but stay cautiously silent. We all want to do something about it, but don’t know what. Or worse, we end up thinking it’s “not a big deal.”

“Street harassment is always a big deal. And now, we have what it takes to stand up to it. It’s always worth it.”

Watch full video here

L’Oréal Paris’s ‘Stand Up Against Street Harassment’ Training Program

The L’Oréal Paris’s ‘Stand Up Against Street Harassment’ Training Program has been launched in partnership with with the NGO Hollaback! and aims to trains 1 million people who are bystanders to intervene  and help curb street harassment.

The Global Brand President of L’Oréal Paris, Delphine Viguier-Hovasse said:

L’Oréal Paris stands for empowerment in every walk of a woman’s life. By removing obstacles preventing women from fulfilling their ambitions, we are committed to elevating their sense of self-worth. With Hollaback! and other local NGO partners, we are committed to creating a world for girls and women to march confidently forward into a future free from street harassment.

Training Program Details – The 5D Method

A survey was conducted by L’Oréal Paris, in collaboration with researchers from Cornell University and Ipsos, that studied wide scale harassment via online interviews with 15,000 participants- these participants span over eight countries and formed a diverse group of people from different cultures. 

According to the survey results, 48 per cent of Canadian respondents said sexual harassment is the most common social issue faced by women and girls in the country, while 78 percent women have experienced sexual harassment in public places worldwide. The most important finding was that 86 of participants revealed in the survey that they had no idea how to tackle a sexual harassment incident as bystanders. 

The training program’s participants will have access to a training website informing and teaching them about the 5D’s:

• Direct
• Distract
• Delegate
• Document
• Delay

WHY Initiate this Campaign?

The program reiterates on the company’s commitment to “ending street sexual harassment and transforming the culture that perpetuates the behaviour and discrimination,” – the goal is to discourage and curb harassment, and promote safe ‘bystander intervention’.

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