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How You Can Intervene Safely

When it comes to intervening safely, remember the five D’s – direct, distract, delegate, delay and document.

Direct action: Call out negative behaviour, tell the person to stop or ask the victim if they are OK. Do this as a group if you can. Be polite. Don’t aggravate the situation - remain calm and state why something is inappropriate. Stick to exactly what has happened, don’t exaggerate.

Distract: Interrupt, start a conversation with the perpetrator to allow their potential target to move away or have friends intervene. Or come up with an idea to get the victim out of the situation – tell them they need to take a call, or you need to speak to them; any excuse to get them away to safety. Alternatively, try distracting, or redirecting the situation.

Delegate: If you don’t feel able to speak out, or you don’t feel safe to do so, look for someone else to step in. Look for staff, members of the security team, police or other groups of people.

Delay: If the situation is too dangerous to challenge then and there (such as there is the threat of violence or you are outnumbered) move away and seek help from other people or the police. When safe to do so, ask the victim if they are OK.

Document: It can be helpful to record a video or audio of situation on your phone, but only if it is safe to do so.

The above advice is based on information from The Intervention Initiative and Public Health England.