About the No Excuses campaign

No Excuses is a high impact media campaign to reach a national audience and it will feature TV, cinema, radio, outdoor, social and digital advertising. It is part of the Second National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender-based Violence 2016-2021.

The aim of the No Excuses campaign is to:

• increase the awareness of sexual harassment and sexual violence
• to bring about a change in long established societal behaviours and attitudes
• to activate bystanders with the aim of decreasing and preventing this violence

The ads highlight and help people recognise the many precursors to sexual harassment and sexual violence and it is hoped that people will hold such behaviours and its precursors totally unacceptable. The ads feature both male and female perpetrators and victims.

It calls on us to stop excusing sexual harassment and sexual violence.

The ultimate goal is to reduce and prevent the incidences of sexual harassment and sexual violence which effects the lives of too many people both directly and indirectly, and thereby make Ireland a much safer society.

Every situation is different. Every potential ally is different. So we can’t tell you what will work in a particular situation. You need to judge what is safe and to remember to act within the law. The following actions are only meant to serve as suggestions on how someone could act in the scenario presented and become an ally to someone potentially becoming a victim of sexual violence.

If you witnessed this scene, you could:

• directly intervene and say something to her like “That’s a bit inappropriate don’t you think?”
• diffuse the situation by asking him to help you with something so you could make a private approach to him and ask him how he feels about what happened and listen to what he says
• make a private approach to her at a later stage and tell her you do not think her behaviour is appropriate and she is invading his personal space
• delegate responsibility to an appropriate person such as a HR representative or senior management and tell them about your concern about her behaviour

For more suggestions on how to become an ally to a sexual harassment or sexual violence victim follow this link.

If you witnessed this scene, and you have been drinking, your perception of danger may be reduced.

Remember in a bar or nightclub glasses and bottles can become weapons. If you witness a scene such as this, you should ask a staff member to check in on her as you feel she is being targeted by a sexual aggressor. If you witness something you believe is a sexual assault, you can ring the Gardaí and tell your concerns of what you are witnessing.

For more suggestions on how to become an ally to a sexual harassment and sexual violence victim follow this link.

If you witnessed this scene, you could:

• diffuse the situation by telling the lads what they are doing is “well out of order”, “not fair” or “not right” and by helping the victim by picking up his towel, kit bag
• also show concern for the victim and ask him if he is ok

For more suggestions on how to become an ally to a sexual harassment or sexual violence victim follow this link.

If you witnessed this scene, and you have been drinking, your perception of danger may be reduced.

Remember at a party, bar or nightclub glasses and bottles can become weapons.

If you witness a scene such as this, you could:

• look to distract him and disrupt the situation by asking him “to come help me with something” or “come have a drink in here”
• also look to extract her from the situation by asking something similar and then you could tell her you are concerned for her and ask her if she is ok or offer her help in finding out resources to get help
• an approach could be made to other people in the party who might know him better, i.e. his friends or family, and you can tell them your concern for his behaviour

If you felt it was appropriate, and safe to do, you could approach him and tell him your concern for his behaviour.

For more suggestions on how to become an ally to a sexual harassment or sexual violence victim follow this link.

If you witnessed this scene, and you have been drinking, your perception of danger may be less.

Remember outside a nightclub there could be discarded glasses and bottles which can become weapons.

If you witness a scene such as this, you could:

• report your concerns to a person of authority such as the Gardaí
• look for assistance from others in order to disrupt the situation from going further
• approach him directly and say something like “she doesn’t look ok and needs help,”if you felt confident to do so, and you judge it was safe to
• directly approach her and ask her if she is ok or needs assistance
• try to disrupt the situation by saying something like “hey you’re Sara’s friend aren’t you?” or something similar with the aim of getting her away from him so you can ask her if she is ok

For more suggestions on how to become an ally to a sexual harassment or sexual violence victim, follow this link.

If you witnessed this scene, you could:

• disrupt the situation by asking her something like “hey do you know what time the park closes?” or something similar with the aim of getting her away from him so you can ask her if she is ok
• directly intervene and say something to him like “That’s a bit inappropriate don’t you think?”
• delegate responsibility to an appropriate person such as a Park Ranger and tell them about your concern about his behaviour

For more suggestions on how to become an ally to a sexual harassment or sexual violence victim, follow this link.

If you are a victim of Intimate Image Abuse, follow this link on how to report it and the help that is available to you.

If you become aware of an intimate image of someone else being shared online or in a message, please take a minute to consider if you think it was originally meant to be a private photo? If the answer is yes:

• do not share it with others
• if you know the person in the image then you should let them know it has been shared, in a caring and compassionate way, so they can report it to Hotline.ie

Every single report Hotline receive will be assessed by their team of experts and every report will reduce the availability and prevent the spread of this content online.