Upstander Students

Upstanders can actively change situations in motion and in effect – outcomes and lives.

‘The Stand-Up Project’ (SUP) is a tailored peer-led training program for primary and secondary school students, teachers and parents that empowers young people to be upstanders to discrimination, harassment and bullying at school. 

Students learn about the bystander effect and the drivers and impacts of poor behaviour. They identify the most age-appropriate ways to support victims and address poor behaviours and teach what they know to younger students through peer-designed and delivered classes and activities.

Our sessions are in-person and onsite and have been proven through program evidence and peer-reviewed research to reduce discrimination, harassment and bullying in schools

Students particiating in an Upstander Progrram
Students particiating in an Upstander Progrram

1 in 4 students in Australia experience discrimination, and 1 in 3 experience bullying.

Students are unlikely to stand up to poor behaviour because they feel a diminished sense of responsibility in a group setting. This is called the bystander effect.

If we don’t teach young people how to be upstanders, the rates of family violence, gender inequality and discrimination in Australia will continue to rise.

The bystander effect is troubling because often, it is not the incident of bullying itself that young people find the most traumatizing, but the lack of support they receive from their peers.

Upstanding is a proven technique of ensuring everyone accepts responsibility for poor behaviour.

Upstanding equips young people with the knowledge and skills to connect in ways that foster harmony, understanding and respect.