By You can make a difference, too
So, What Actually Counts As Street Harassment?
More than you might think. It’s not just the dramatic, frightening incidents — being followed home, or groped on public transport. It’s also the everyday moments that are so routine they’ve become background noise: catcalling, wolf-whistling, unwanted staring, sexually charged comments, or someone getting uncomfortably close on a crowded platform. Harassment can also take the form of racist, homophobic, transphobic, or ableist abuse. The common thread is that it’s unwanted, it’s intrusive, and it happens in public spaces where we should all feel free to simply exist.
The emotional toll is real and lasting. Victims report heightened anxiety, disrupted sleep, and a persistent sense of being unsafe in spaces that should feel ordinary. Street harassment, the research shows, reinforces the structural inequalities that underpin gender-based violence more broadly. Dismissing it as harmless — or even flattering — isn’t just tone-deaf. It’s dangerous.
The 5Ds: Your Toolkit For Standing Up
The Stand Up program trains people in the 5Ds — Distract, Delegate, Document, Direct, and Delay — a methodology originally developed by international NGO Right To Be, and now proven across 45 countries. Crucially, these techniques aren’t about squaring up to a harasser or putting yourself at risk. They’re practical, flexible, and designed for real life.
Distract — create a diversion to defuse the situation. Delegate — alert a nearby authority figure or staff member. Document — record the incident discreetly to support the victim later. Direct — address the harasser or the victim directly if it’s safe to do so. Delay — check in with the person who was harassed after the fact, to let them know they were seen and believed.
Research confirms that bystander intervention makes a genuine difference. In Australia, 84% of witnesses who stepped in say it improved the outcome. More than that, it sends a powerful message to the person being harassed: you’re not alone, and this is not your fault.
A Global Movement
Globally, over five million people across 45 countries have now been trained as upstanders. Here in Australia and New Zealand, that number has surpassed 18,800 — a growing community of people committed to making public spaces safer for everyone, particularly those most at risk. First Nations women, women of colour, trans women, and gender diverse and nonbinary people face disproportionate levels of harassment, and the movement is intentionally designed to centre and protect them.
L’Oréal Paris has long championed the idea that nothing should stand between a woman and her sense of self-worth. Stand Up is that belief in action — beauty brand as bystander, turning awareness into training, and training into change.
The free sessions are available online and in person. Because knowing what to do is the first step to actually doing it.
Sign up for free bystander training at standup-international.com/au