FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 18, 2022

Contact: 

UniQue Webster

[email protected]

NEW YORK, April 12, 2022 — An unprecedented global social impact survey reveals the positive impact and the efficacy of the Stand Up Against Street Harassment Training, a program created by Right To Be (formerly Hollaback!) and L’Oréal Paris to teach people how to safely intervene in instances of street harassment.

The survey, conducted in partnership with the research firm Ipsos, revealed that participants who have taken the training are more confident in identifying instances of street harassment and feel more prepared to intervene. The study was conducted in France, U.S., India, and Indonesia and involved the participation of 1.841 interviews among people who completed the Stand Up and 3.126 among the general population. 

Key findings:

• The study revealed that 97% of Stand Up Against Street Harassment trainees feel more empowered to intervene when witnessing street harassment.

• Not only does training seem to help intervene more, but these interventions are perceived as more effective and satisfying. 86% of participants said that the intervention improved the situation for them personally, 83% said it put an end to the situation of street harassment, and 72% pointed out that it gave them satisfaction. 

• Among participants who have experienced street harassment after getting trained, 85% of them did something when it happened, while only 72% were comfortable acting or speaking up prior to the training. 

• The training also seemed to reduce the impact of negative feelings on people who have experienced harassment. They tend to feel less vulnerable (19%), scared (20%), uncomfortable (46%), and anxious (25%) than when they experienced such a situation before getting trained.

• Globally, more than 9 out of 10 Stand Up trainees are convinced they could do at least one thing to combat street harassment if they were to witness it (vs 67% in the general population).

Emily May, Co-founder and Executive Director of Right To Be says, ​​“The results are clear: bystander intervention training works. After just a one-hour training, people leave confident that they will intervene the next time harassment happens. Even more impressive: they actually are intervening. Street harassment has been deemed an “unsolvable” problem. Stand Up Against Street Harassment is a bright light of hope, showing us that together, we can end street harassment. Right To Be is proud to partner with L’Oreal Paris to scale this initiative globally.”

Delphine Viguier Hovasse, Global Brand President, L’Oréal Paris says, “Street harassment goes against the values of women’s empowerment, which is at the heart of L’Oréal Paris’ DNA. We are proud to see that in a short window of time, our Stand Up Against Street Harassment training program has had such a positive and concrete impact on women’s daily lives. We encourage everyone to get trained and spread the word. With Stand Up Against Street Harassment, all women can recognize their self-worth.” 

Our Stand Up Against Street Harassment training is focused on raising awareness about street harassment using Right To Be’s 5Ds methodology: distract, delegate, document, delay, and direct. If you want to learn more about the training, please visit this website. 

What is RIGHT TO BE?
Right To Be is a people-powered movement working to build a world free of harassment and filled with humanity. We are a team of educators, motivators, and facilitators who are listening, guiding, and cheering you on. Every day, we train hundreds of people to respond to, intervene in, and heal from harassment. We hold space for people experiencing harassment to share their stories for affirmation and support. And we prepare new leaders to create workplaces, schools, and communities around the world that are filled with humanity. For more information or how you can get involved, visit www.righttobe.org. Follow Right To Be on Twitter and Facebook at, @righttobeorg.