LambethLewishamNewsSouthwark

On the buses – breaking the silence, one stop at a time

A new campaign teaches young people to identify and call out bullying, misogyny and toxic masculinity among their peers.

On The Buses starts with immediate effect and runs for six months.

All too often antisocial behaviour goes un-checked in hidden and unsupervised spaces, like public transport settings.

The result? A perpetuation in harmful attitudes. Call it out and stamp it out by focusing the spotlight on unwelcome behaviours, that’s the message.

Too many school and college-age girls report incidents of harassment and violence on their daily commute. Some of course end in tragedy, including the killing of Elianne Andam in Croydon in 2023.

The project aims to raise awareness and promote positive behaviour among young people by incorporating these messages into bus advertising and social media campaigns.

On The Buses is creating a safer and more respectful environment for young people, offering a behind-the-scenes look at the realities of gender-based discrimination and violence, while highlighting the potential of creative mediums like theatre: music; and film to address these issues effectively. The campaign is being rolled out across South London schools.

It’s a collaboration with 30 young people from six South London schools. They will design and develop a creative campaign aimed at challenging inappropriate behaviour on public transport.

“Participants will discuss issues faced by young people, brainstorm solutions and create interactive digital and physical campaigns incorporating messages of respect, consent and intervention”, said Dr Diahanne Rhiney, psychologist, and founder of Strength With In Me (S.W.I.M) Foundation.

Participants will receive recognition for their involvement and have the opportunity to present their work to their schools and peers.

The campaign is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

On The Buses is the latest work from children’s domestic abuse charity, S.W.I.M. It promotes pioneering intervention to address the domestic abuse of young girls and women. This latest initiative builds upon the organisation’s previous work with young people and healthy relationships.

www.swim-dv.org

Pictured top: Dr Diahanne Rhiney (Picture: Dr Diahanne Rhiney)

 

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