Cody Simpson wants Aussie men to join Stand Up campaign against harassment

Aussie swim star Cody Simpson says he has seen first-hand harassment of women, prompting him to do something about it.

Aussie pop star-turned-swimmer Cody Simpson wants Aussie men to man up.

Simpson is backing a global campaign and intervention program aimed at putting an end to “street harassment” – everything from catcalling, leering, staring, wolf-whistling, to sexual comments and unwanted touching.

“I’ve certainly been in plenty situations in bars and clubs and concerts and all kinds of things throughout my life where I’ve seen those lines being crossed,” Simpson, who is dating Australian swimming superstar Emma McKeon, said.

Cody Simpson is backing the Stand Up campaign.

Simpson has joined personal care company L’Oreal Paris’ Stand Up Against Street Harassment campaign, which will include a Not in Our Street university tour in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The events will include a 20-minute discussion with panellists’ exploring their own experiences of street harassment and the role men can play as bystanders.

Bystander intervention is based on the idea everyone has a responsibility to prevent harassment in public spaces – and Simpson said he personally knew many people close to him who have been subjected to the abuse.

“Particularly women who can be, and are, subject to this kind of stuff all the time,” Simpson said.

Simpson said too many men were not speaking up when they saw people being treated badly in public. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

“It’s something that spoke to me in a way that I felt compelled to be a part of it, I suppose. It happens in so many different kinds of ways, in different kinds of places that I think most of us have seen first hand,” the 28-year-old said.

Simpson, who still hopes to compete in next year’s Paris Olympics, said a male voice in the conversation was crucial because it was males who were mainly behind the harassment.

“I see that in statistics. So to have males speaking up about it and against it, and trying to influence other males to do the right thing in public and know the difference between flirting and harassment … Because too often [we] see those kind of boundaries and those borders being crossed.”

Simpson with girlfriend Emma McKeon.

He said friends of his who are of different ethnicities and were gender diverse were also subject to “harassment and judgment”.

“I just think that overall we can we can be better and make the world a safer environment for all kinds of people,” Simpson said.

He said he hoped people who attend the panel discussion walked away with “greater knowledge and confidence to help people in public”.

“But also, greater awareness of their own actions as well as others.”