Kat Gale’s Reviews > I've Got Your Back: The Indispensable Guide to Stopping Harassment When You See It > Status Update

When we do the small, sometimes uncomfortable acts of setting boundaries, saying “no,” moving and nourishing our bodies, caring for our mental and emotional health, and/or asking for what we need and deserve, we heal and grow. When we take care of ourselves, we “power up” to take care of those around us.

Bystander intervention takes courage, but its effect is tangible. It shows people who are experiencing harassment that they aren’t alone, and that what happened to them isn’t okay. It’s a step closer to a world free from harassment...When you witness harassment, you have the opportunity to directly change culture by modeling a new way to show up.

in My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending our Hearts and Bodies, psychological trauma has the potential to alter the epigenetic makeup of future generations. The mark doesn’t directly mutate the gene, it alters the mechanism by which the gene expresses itself. These chemical marks are passed down from generation to generation. They shape how we respond to the traumas in our own lives.

"When no one does anything, it makes the situation worse...the trauma associated with others observing harassment but not offering any form of support is oftentimes worse than the trauma of the original incident."

–Read that again, people. Your silence is the worst thing you can do.

Don’t be shy about tapping in some men, white folks, cis folks, or able-bodied people the next time you see harassment happening. It shouldn’t be on folks who disproportionately experience harassment to do all the work.