L’Oreal Paris launches initiative against ‘street harassment’

The beauty brand has developed an awareness and training programme 'Stand Up' against street harassment, in partnership with the NGO Hollaback!.

New Delhi: According to a study about gender equality conducted in eight countries (India, Canada, France, Italy, Mexico, Spain, UK and US), sexual harassment in public spaces was identified as the No. 1 issue women and girls are facing across the world.

As much as 78 per cent of women globally have experienced sexual harassment in public spaces, said the survey by L’Oreal Paris – IPSOS. It added that only 25 per cent of victims say someone helped, adding 86 per cent of us do not know what to do when we witness it happening.

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The beauty brand has developed an awareness and training programme ‘Stand Up’ against street harassment, in partnership with the NGO Hollaback!.

The programme offers a proven 5D methodology (Direct, Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay), to help both men and women to safely intervene if they witness or experience street harassment.

Pau Gruart – General Manager, L’Oreal Paris, India tells IANSlife: “Street harassment robs women of their dignity, sense of security and feelings of self-worth, which goes against everything L’Oreal Paris stands for. That’s why it’s so important for us to stand up and help to combat this issue that affects us all.”

He adds: “We will partner with expert NGO partner Breakthrough to take Stand Up into the heart of communities and create a global movement of upstanders.”

The trainings will be online as well as offline. The online training is available for everyone across the country at www.standup-india.com.

L’Oreal Paris aims to train 1 million people across the country in bystander intervention to tackle street harassment by 2022. This community will be trained in the 5D’s — the simple act of interrupting an incident by asking the time or pretending to be lost.

“By opening the public eye to the scale of harassment women in particular, experience, Stand Up aims to simultaneously discourage harassers, support victims and encourage bystanders to intervene in a safe manner,” Gruart says.

The global initiative was launched in India through a virtual event, attended by Gruart, Emily May, co-founder and executive director of Hollaback!, Sohini Bhattacharya, President and CEO, Breakthrough India, and Bollywood actress Aditi Rao Hydari, brand ambassador of L’Oreal Paris, India.