Xiaohongshu
Our Impact
Over the last decade, the Active Bystander Programme has trained over 65,000 students and has grown to be the largest programme of its kind in UK Higher Education, through its peer-to-peer delivery model.
The programme is a core part of students’ induction and time at UCL, aiming to ensure all students understand a range of unacceptable behaviours, including bullying, harassment, discrimination, hate crime, hate incidents, microaggressions, and sexual misconduct. The programme provides students with the tools to safely intervene if they witness or experience any of these unacceptable behaviours.
Since 2022-23, we have annually gathered extensive data to rigorously assess the impact of our programme on students and the wider community. This evaluation is built into the learning journey: to complete their training and receive certification, students submit feedback after finishing the online module and attending our live workshops. This gives us a rich body of quantitative and qualitative insight into how the impact of the programme.
The feedback we’ve gathered has been invaluable in deepening our understanding of students’ experiences of the Active Bystander Programme. Responses have been consistently encouraging, while also offering clear, constructive insight into how we can continue to strengthen and refine the programme.
Our most recent feedback (2025-6) has found that:
- 84% of respondents agreed the online module was useful.
- 95% of respondents agreed that they understood what constitutes bullying, harassment and sexual misconduct after completing the online module.
- 89% of respondents agreed that they feel more prepared to intervene in a situation of unacceptable behaviour after attending a live workshop.
- 95% of students rated their Workshop Leader as 4/5 or above.
Across the years, students have said:
- “I appreciate the inclusion of the module as it makes me feel like harassment and unwanted conduct will be taken seriously by the university. I can see why it can be useful for other people to help them recognise problematic behaviour and maybe not feel powerless to intervene.”
- "Learning the specific active bystander and de-escalation techniques gave me concrete tools I feel confident applying in real-life situations, rather than just theoretical ideas."
- “I really enjoyed exploring different scenarios and discussing in small groups the preventative measures we could take to be active bystanders. It was a great way to consolidate what we learned in the online course. I also appreciated hearing other people's perspectives and realising that there isn’t just one correct way to handle a situation. Seeing the diversity of approaches made the discussions even more insightful.”
- “The scenarios were actually realistic and I can actually imagine myself seeing or witnessing some of the scenarios, so I feel more prepared.”
- “The workshop leader was really friendly, understanding and clear in their explanations. I usually struggle to participate in workshops because I’m afraid to say the wrong thing but X made me feel comfortable enough to share my ideas :)”
Evaluation and Impact Reports
Dive into our annual reports to see the insights emerging from each year of evaluation.
