Hi everyone!
This is an illustrated guide I made as part of my co-admining work at The Middle Eastern Feminist on Facebook! It will be published there shortly.Â
The technique that is displayed here is a genuine one used in psychology - I forgot the name and couldnât find it again so if you know about it, feel free to tell me!
Some could say: âYes but you can use that technique for instances of harassment other than Islamophobic attacks!â, and my reply is: Sure! Please do so, it also works for other âtypesâ of harassment of a lone person in a public space!!
However Iâm focusing on protecting Muslims here, as they have been very specific targets lately, and as a French Middle Eastern woman, I wanted to try and do something to raise awareness on how to help when such things happen before our eyes - that way one cannot say they âdidnât know what to doâ!Â
Iâd like to insist on two things:
1) Do not, in any way, interact with the attacker. You must absolutely ignore them and focus entirely on the person being attacked!
2) Please make sure to always respect the wishes of the person youâre helping: whether they want you to leave quickly afterwards, or not! If youâre in a hurry escort them to a place where someone else can take over - call one of their friends, or one of yours, of if they want to, the police. It all depends on how they feel!
For my fellow French-speakers: I will translate it in French and post it on my page as soon as I can :)
Please donât hesitate to share this guide as it could push a lot of people to overcome bystander syndrome!!
Lots of love and stay safe!
PS: I you repost this cartoon of mine on twitter or instagram, please add me in the post so I can see it, with @itsmaeril :)