Produced in partnership between Kent County Council, Kent Police and the Kent and Medway Violence Reduction Unit and funded by government. The ‘Don’t Disrespect’ film and campaign is the result of research conducted in schools and youth groups in Kent. This revealed street harassment, particularly outside schools and in town centres, to be a prolific problem. The campaign challenges boys to take a stand and end street harassment.
The Don't Disrespect campaign calls for men and boys to stop harassing behaviours.
75% of girls and women across the country, aged 12 to 21, have experienced public sexual harassment on the street from men and boys.[1]
Almost half of girls have experienced harassment in schools and college and 1 in 3 girls in the UK have received unwanted sexual attention such as being groped, stared at, cat-called and wolf-whistled in public.[2]
The ‘Don’t Disrespect’ campaign includes an impactful short film featuring young people from local acting schools and Kent Youth County Council (KYCC). It tells the story of a girl on her way home from school where we witness boys intimidating her highlighting typical behaviours girls and women experience such as catcalling, abusive language, suggestive comments and their impact. The aim is to call for boys and young men to recognise that such actions are unacceptable and to empower friends and peers to take a stand and speak up when they witness this behaviour.
“Women and girls should never feel unsafe in their homes or in the community.”
Young people were involved throughout the production and planning of the entire campaign, influencing script and scene suggestions for the film, messaging for printed elements and the campaign name. The scale of street harassment perpetrated by men and boys became evident whilst filming, with two incidents taking place during the production.
Sue Chandler, Cabinet Member for Integrated Children’s Services said: “Women and girls should never feel unsafe in their homes or in the community.
“Concerning national statistics have now shown us that there has never been a more pressing time to address misogyny and unacceptable behaviours to prevent escalation and ultimately, put an end to this conduct in our society.
“I am extremely proud of all the young people in Kent who helped us to create and deliver this thought provoking and impactful film and campaign. We all have a part to play in ensuring these unacceptable behaviours are eradicated and so I encourage everyone to take a few minutes to watch the ‘Don’t Disrespect’ film and reflect on how you could influence change.
“I sincerely hope we can look back on this launch in the near future and recognise it as a catalyst that helped to create meaningful behaviour change in our county.”
The ‘Don’t Disrespect’ film and campaign including posters and social media copy information are available at: www.dontdisrespect.uk
[1] Extent of public sexual harassment on women and girls revealed
[2] plan-uk.org/file/plan-uk-street-harassment-reportpdf/download?token=CyKwYGSJ
The film was produced and directed by production agency the Prod Company.
Government funding was provided for all campaign elements.
