Allyship
An ally is an advocate for inclusion – a colleague, supporter, friend or person who wants to help make change. Allies are important. They may have privilege or power that people from marginalised communities are less likely to have. This means the support of allies can be powerful to create positive change.
To be an effective ally:
- listen to colleagues who experience marginalisation and make time to understand their experiences
- believe colleagues who share their experience with you, and don’t minimise or invalidate their experiences or feelings
- amplify the voice and work of colleagues who experience marginalisation
- ask colleagues how you can support them, and follow their leadership
- attend or help organise community events
- take learning opportunities, such as those in the Resources tab of this policy
- be an active bystander.
People from marginalised communities are often expected to speak on behalf of or represent their communities. This can create an additional mental, cultural, emotional, psychological, or workload. Allies can help to alleviate this load by taking the actions listed above.
Active bystander
A bystander is someone who witnesses disrespectful or harmful behaviour but is not directly involved.
Active bystanders take action to:
- stop a disrespectful or harmful situation from escalating
- disrupt a disrespectful or potentially harmful situation.
VicHealth’s ‘Take Action’ active bystander(opens in a new window) resource gives a ladder of action bystanders can take:
- diffuse the situation with a light-hearted comment or giving a disapproving look
- check in with the target of the disrespectful behaviour
- call out the person behaving disrespectfully
- formally report the behaviour (read raising concerns or complaints for more information).
All department employees can attend centrally-funded Active Bystander training. Go to the Resources tab for more information about training opportunities.
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