Target groups: Young people ages 14+ / adults

Topic: Recognising sexual harassment

Time required: approx. four double lessons or one project day (6 hours plus break)

Material: It’s Not That Grey, by Sara Hassan and Juliette Sanchez-Lambert. You can borrow the book from the CID or download the English and German versions of the guide free of charge here: https://periodbrussels.eu/guide/

[Trigger warning:

The unit contains descriptions of sexual harassment and sexual abuse.

The book can be read alone. However, it is also possible to read it with friends in a trusting context. A familiar youth group or a freely chosen working group as part of a project day can also provide a good framework.

If necessary, it may be useful to involve CEPAS or Femmes en Détresse for this unit / or to have a consultation with them beforehand.]

Description:

This Gender Drop provides a very practical tool against sexual harassment:

The inner red warning lights are flashing … again! What is initially an uneasy feeling does not have to remain vague. Remember that…

• Sexual harassment follows patterns
• can be analysed
• does not need to remain in unspeakable “grey areas”
• and can be fought strategically – alone or with friends

With the guide It’s Not That Grey, the two authors Sara Hassan and Juliette Sanchez-Lambert help people to recognise harassment patterns, trust their own judgment, and become capable of taking action.

It starts by explaining harassment patterns:

Harassment is not about sexuality, but about the abuse of power. People who sexually harass often take advantage of their position (e.g. bosses, doctors, professors, teaching staff, etc.). The following are some of the identified harassment patterns:
1) Harassers take advantage of environmental situations and target the “newcomers” in the group, making use of the lack of publicity.
2) They make targeted use of social marginalisation: Trans people, queer people, people with disabilities, black people and people of colour are disproportionately affected by harassment.
3) They use rhetorical tactics to deflect responsibility for their offenses, with statements like, “You played along.”
4) They escalate their assaults – often in a gradual process from the “nice guy” who gives “harmless” compliments, to what become more prominent assaults.

Here the guide provides four stories based on actual experiences to help you practice identifying the harassment pattern. They are each printed twice: the first is without commentary so that you can look for the patterns yourself, and a second time with comments from the authors to help you compare and categorize the stories.

Suggestion for independent work: This book is very suitable for reading by yourself or together with friends (see p. 13 for the order of the chapters).

Suggestion for working in groups:
The moderator/teacher presents the introductory chapter and explains what a red flag can be. Each group makes a red flag that can be actively used later when analyzing the examples. The groups can then get started.

Note: the following can be done in a large group discussion, or using active classroom activities such as think-pair-share or snowballing.

• The groups choose one of the stories and try to analyze it themselves. They should compare their versions with the annotated version and the examples of the Red Flags (p. 42-52).
• The group discusses the strategies that can help us 1) to protect ourselves and others from harassment and 2) to become allies and supporters (p. 52 to 69).

Brake the myth

The authors of the brochure write:

If we really want to fight harassment and assault structurally, we need a change in culture. From an early age, society instils in us certain myths about sexual harassment that are based on rape culture (a culture that trivializes and normalizes rape) and victim blaming (the practice of blaming victims for being subjected to violence), (p. 78)

In the following, the authors analyse some of the myths that are often prevalent in society. ‘You provoked that!’, “That doesn’t happen here!”, “You could have defended yourself!” Then they make suggestions as to how they can be dispelled.

Each small group deals with one of the myths and discusses whether they have already encountered this myth or saying, what they thought about it and why it blames the victims of harassment (victim blaming). The small groups then summarise their discussion in a final circle for the others.

(Tip: To form the small groups, it can be helpful to write the different myths individually on a piece of paper and then distribute the pieces of paper on the floor. The participants then stand by the myth they are most interested in discussing).

This gender drop can be combined well with Gender Drop: No 13 Catcalling (on sexual harassment in public spaces).