TIME’S UP - taking it from the red carpet and into the mainstream

Sexual harassment in the workplace has been dragged into the limelight and rightly so but how can we embed it in our everyday conversations and local community?

If you enjoyed watching the Golden Globes and more recently the BAFTA’s  you may have noticed one colour in particular dominating the red carpet.  “Actresses wore black gowns in support of the TIME'S UP movement, standing in solidarity with victims of sexual assault and harassment. “ Following on from the recent #metoo movement motivated by the dark underbelly of Hollywood, and opening our eyes to just how many women have been affected.  

“TIME’S UP is a unified call for change from women everywhere: from movie sets to farm fields to boardrooms alike, to envision nationwide leadership that reflects the world in which we live.” 

Our ethical fashion icon, Emma Watson was a huge inspiration at the Globes bringing with her “Marai Larasi the Executive Director of Imkaan, a UK-based black and minority ethnic women's organization which works to prevent and respond to violence against marginalized European girls and women.”

Marai- what can I say. You were the best date on the most meaningful red carpet I have ever walked. Thank you for being so darn articulate and fun. Thank you for the trust, care, compassion and solidarity. I am so proud to say I work with #Imkaan and the End Violence Against Women Coalition and to be learning from you. Emma 💪 @jusmarai

A post shared by Emma Watson (@emmawatson) on Jan 14, 2018 at 11:41pm PST

But if you’re not attending global awards nights, what can you do more locally?

Now more than ever we need to get curious and educate ourselves, about what sexual harassment is. A series of short films launched last year tried to tackle just that.

*TRIGGER WARNING: Difficult but important to watch, so take care*

It's a tricky subject to navigate but it’s a conversation we need to practice and have with our friends, family, the workplace and our wider community.

Here a few guiding principles you could use, courtesy of, researcher, storyteller and all round kick-ass woman, Brene Brown.

How can you start to share your story?

If you feel shame about something you've read or the experiences you've had:

It can be so difficult to even notice you’re running away in the beginning:

Here at HARA we’ve found Brene's lessons a great resource when entering into discussions about #metoo & #timesup. We need to ensure these issues stay fresh in people's minds, even after they fall off the red carpet.

For more of her learnings and awesome quotable soundbites, we recommend you head over to her site: brenebrown.com - we’re big fans!

Keep the conversation going where you are.