What Happens in Our Sexual Harassment Workshops for Schools?
At Our Streets Now, our sexual harassment workshops for schools and colleges start with experiences young people can recognise. Through real-life scenarios and open discussion, we explore what harassment looks like, why it causes harm and how to seek support.
Our aim is to challenge the attitudes that allow harassment to become normalised, without putting the responsibility on those experiencing it.
Looking for a session for your students? Explore our school and college workshops.
What do students do in a sexual harassment workshop?
Our workshops are built around active and open discussion, using scenarios drawn from the testimonies shared with Our Streets Now.
These bring together experiences rather than quoting individual survivors directly. They might explore sexualised comments, unwanted touching on public transport or someone becoming aggressive after being rejected.
We ask students to think about questions such as:
What makes an interaction unwanted or intimidating?
Who has power in this situation?
How might the person experiencing it feel?
Why can it be difficult to challenge harassment or ask for help?
Our aim is to build understanding and empathy, while making space to question behaviour that’s often dismissed as a joke.
Challenging harassment means understanding inequality
Not everyone experiences public sexual harassment in the same way. Our scenarios explore how racism, homophobia, transphobia and ableism can shape the harassment someone faces.
We want students of all genders to feel able to take part. That includes engaging boys in the conversation and helping them recognise their role in challenging harmful attitudes and behaviour.
Changing the culture is a shared responsibility, not just a task for girls and those experiencing harassment.
Helping young people recognise harm and ask for support
Knowing the definition of sexual harassment is a starting point. We also want young people to question language and behaviour they may have been encouraged to accept as normal.
Our workshops create space to consider the impact of harassment, the pressures that make challenging it difficult and the importance of asking for help. We want students to know their experiences matter, even when someone else tries to brush them off.
Which workshop is right for your students?
Our school and college programmes include the following options:
Understanding Sexual Harassment, Years 9-11: An interactive workshop exploring public sexual harassment, its impact, gender stereotypes and ways to challenge harm.
Cultures of Sexual Harassment, sixth form and further education: A deeper discussion of consent, relationships, prejudice and the everyday attitudes that normalise harassment.
Digital Harms and the Online World, Year 9 upwards: A workshop exploring image-based abuse, online influence and the gendered pressures that shape digital harm.
Changemaker workshops: Sessions for smaller groups of students who want to develop ideas and lead change in their school or college.
For the Years 9-11 Understanding Sexual Harassment workshop, sessions can run for 50-90 minutes, with up to 30 students and two facilitators. Other formats have different arrangements; talk to us about your students and timetable to find the best fit.
Explore workshops for your school.
Supporting staff and lasting change
Ofsted’s 2021 review called for a whole-school approach, combining education, staff training and a culture that takes harassment seriously.
Alongside student workshops, we offer CPD-accredited staff training on public sexual harassment. This explores young people’s experiences, responding to disclosures, teaching about harassment and involving pupil voice in change.
Our free sexual harassment teaching resources include lesson plans for KS3, KS4 and KS5, alongside materials for assemblies and staff learning. Use them to support ongoing conversations within your PSHE, RSE or wider pastoral provision.
Start a conversation in your school or college
Whether you’re planning student workshops, developing staff confidence or looking for classroom resources, explore how Our Streets Now can support your next steps
Download the brochure
Enter your details to access our Schools workshop and training brochure for more information about our programmes, including testimonials, format and pricing.
