What Men Learned from the Raise Your Voice Workshops
Conversations about sexual harassment and gender-based violence are often difficult — but they’re necessary. That’s why the Raise Your Voice workshops were created: to give people the tools and confidence to challenge inappropriate behaviour and encourage bystander intervention.
Recently, we held a series of focus groups with men who participated in these workshops to better understand their experiences — and how we can make the sessions even more effective.
Recognising the Everyday Signs
Many participants said the workshops helped them identify sexual harassment in their own lives — often in subtle, everyday forms they hadn’t fully recognised before. They now have better awareness of how ‘everyday sexism’ feeds into more problematic behaviour. It also helped them approach situations with more care and focus on the impact on others, not just their own intentions.
Rethinking Intervention – It Doesn’t Always Mean Direct Confrontation
One of the key shifts among participants was in how they thought about bystander intervention. Participants said they felt more confident using a variety of methods — such as checking in with someone after an incident, redirecting a conversation, or getting help from others. There was a clear shift in attitude away from direct intervention, which might escalate tension or put someone at risk, and that there's more than one way to make a difference.
Understanding through Empathy
Empathy and perspective-taking played a significant role in how attitudes shifted.
Participants described how hearing from women about women’s experiences helped them understand why a particular behaviour might be harmful and might constitute sexual harassment — even if it hadn’t seemed that way to them before.
This made it more likely they would intervene and to use a more thoughtful, victim-centred approach.
Peer Influence: A Double-Edged Sword
The focus groups also highlighted the power of peer influence. Most men do not support sexist or violent behaviour towards women – but they do think that the majority of other men do. This makes it hard to speak up or intervene and leads to the normalisation of harassment.
But when men had the chance to speak openly during the workshops, they discovered that others shared their concerns. This helped boost confidence and reduce the sense of isolation many felt when navigating these situations. Group discussions played a big role in breaking down those barriers, facilitating a positive peer experience, and building a stronger sense of shared responsibility.
Gender Shapes the Experience
Gender was clearly a major factor in how men experienced and responded to the workshop content. Some participants showed defensiveness around the idea of men as perpetrators, and others expressed concern about the representation of male victims. There were also mixed feelings about people accused of sexual violence, and at times, some ambivalence about victims themselves. These are not unusual reactions — but they show why it's essential to make space for honest discussion and to address the issue head-on.
However, since the focus groups took place, public understanding and discourse around these issues has continued to shift. The Executive Office launched their Ending Violence Against Women and Girls strategy, and the PSNI introduced their Power to Change campaign — both of which clearly emphasise that sexual harassment and sexual violence are gendered issues and must be addressed with gender-responsive approaches. These developments signal a broader cultural recognition of the role gender plays in both victimisation and prevention, reinforcing the need for workshops like Raise Your Voice to engage with these dynamics directly.
The Problem with “Chivalry”
Our focus group discussion showed that benevolent sexism was an important influence in this area. This is the kind of behaviour that appears respectful or protective on the surface, but actually reinforces outdated gender stereotypes and unhelpful gender roles. In addition to reinforcing the idea that women are weak or need rescuing, benevolent sexism tends to be conditional i.e. only relevant if the woman in question is traditionally feminine and behaving ‘appropriately’ etc. These attitudes are part of the rape culture that we are seeking to challenge.
What We Learned — and What Comes Next
Overall, the workshops were seen as a positive and effective experience for men. They helped participants build awareness, shift their thinking, and feel more capable of intervening when needed.
But there’s still room to grow. To make these sessions even more impactful, we recommend:
Avoiding reinforcement of benevolent sexism
Involving more men in shaping and delivering the workshops
Continuing to create space for open, peer-led discussions
These sessions aren’t just about awareness — they’re about changing attitudes and behaviours in meaningful, lasting ways. And men have a crucial role to play in that.
Interested in learning more about Raise Your Voice workshops or bringing them to your community or organisation? Reach out — we’d love to hear from you.
