In New York, Activists Prepare Bystanders To Take Action Against Harassment

If you were to witness a bias-based attack or a hate crime, how would you respond?

It's something some activists are preparing some New Yorkers to be ready for, as reports of hate crimes in the city have increased since the election of Donald Trump. They are up 63 percent compared to the same period last year as of Dec. 14, according to the New York City Police Department.

Earlier this month, a man allegedly threatened to cut the throat of an off-duty police officer wearing a hijab. Two days later, a transit worker wearing a hijab was allegedly pushed down the stairs in Grand Central Terminal by a man who called her a "terrorist."

Christen Brandt, a trainer with the Center for Anti-Violence Education, wants more bystanders who witness attacks and hate crimes to become what she calls "upstanders" — people who will intervene rather than just walk away.

"Watching an act of harassment in real time, it's something that makes people really tense up. They're often just not sure what to do or how to get involved," Brandt says.

Recently, she helped train about a hundred people at a community center in Queens. They warmed up by repeating phrases they might use on a harasser, things like "Leave him alone!" and "You can't do that!"

But before you speak up, Brandt says it's important to stay level-headed. Then, figure out what's the safest way to take action.

"Are you behind the harasser? Are you in a position where you are in physical danger of being assaulted should the harasser decide to attack the victim?" she says.

Intervening as an "upstander," though, doesn't have to involve getting in a harasser's face. Brandt says there are more indirect strategies.

Enlarge this image toggle caption Hansi Lo Wang/NPR Hansi Lo Wang/NPR

"If there are people around you, go up to that person and say, 'Hey! Do you see what's happening? Yeah? Can you call someone?' " she says.

You could ignore the harasser completely and instead engage the person who is under attack, or you could ask the harasser unrelated questions — about directions, for example — in an effort to distract the harasser.

Advocacy groups have been scrambling to hold more workshops for bystanders.

Debjani Roy is with Hollaback!, a group that offers webinars on how to respond to street harassment. Her organization is working with a video-training group called WITNESS to figure out how best to train bystanders to record cellphone video of any incident with tips like filming landmarks and saying what day and time it is.

Roy warns, though, that it's always best to check with the victim before sharing a video publicly.

"It's very easy to use it in the wrong way where you're actually putting someone in danger," she says.

In New York, where the threat of danger has been heightened in the Muslim community, Mariana Aguilera of Queens says she finds comfort seeing so many of her neighbors training with Brandt at the community center.

"I'm a convert to Islam, so for the last 10 years I've been going through these experiences of harassment. And in these 10 years, I've never witnessed something like this in this room, people from different faiths and different walks of life coming together," she says.

They're all preparing to stand up against hate and violence, and that, she says, is an empowering sight to see.