The tragic death of Sarah Everard has sparked an outpouring of anger, upset and women feeling further concerned about their safety. This awful moment has been the catalyst for an important conversation that needs to take place with men.
The Good Guys Guide seeks to help men realise that even “good guys” can be perceived as a threat, and that they have a role to play in helping women feel more comfortable when out on the streets. The guide offers a set of seven quick and easy-to-follow rules that they men can adopt when out and about in order to help women feel safe, acknowledging that it’s not women’s responsibility to take precautions to “avoid” being harassed.
Men are finally understanding how terrifying the streets can be for women and how much they already do to “avoid” being attacked (change their route, pay for short uber journeys, hold keys between their fingers). Guys are going online to ask what they can do to help.
The rules featured in the guide include “Don’t walk behind her”, “Hood down hands out” and “Cross the street”. The last rule, “Educate your mates” invites men to help spread the word amongst their friends.
To help amplify the campaign, M&C Saatchi partnered with Solace and Token Man, an initiative which works to help men better understand the challenges faced by women in the workplace and beyond.
Jane Jutsum, Executive Director Business Development, Solace Women’s Aid, said:
“This is a pivotal moment to create a movement dedicated to ending all forms of violence against women. That movement must include men because women need allies to challenge the casual disregard of women’s right to feel safe anywhere and at any time. We are proud to be part of the Good Guys Guide campaign because changing hearts, minds and behaviours will help improve the lives of millions of women and girls and because their lives depend on it. The campaign’s rules provide easy steps that men should be taking which will play a part in the wider battle of tackling male violence against women and girls.”
The push also aims to spark a conversation about men’s role as active allies to women, with a call-to-action for men to find out how to be a positive bystander, taking steps to ensure safety such as calling out abusers, reporting abuse and preventing situations from escalating. Solace has provided more details on how to do this, which people can download from the www.goodguysguide.co.uk website or more find out more below
Read about being a Positive Bystander
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The Good Guys Guide is looking for people to help spread the message. You can find the downloadable asset kit for use on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook here