Cody Simpson stands up to street harassment in new campaign

Swimmer and singer Cody Simpson is lending his voice to a new campaign designed to call out an issue too many women have had to face.

Growing up with a fan base predominantly made up of young girls, musician and swimmer, Cody Simpson is now using his voice to raise awareness and tear down street harassment.

With so many important women in his life from his mother and sister to his new girlfriend, swimming legend Emma McKeon, to the thousands of young fans who essentially grew up with him, Simpson felt obliged to use his star-power in the right way.

The singer has partnered up with L’Oreal Paris to launch the nationwide Stand Up Against Street Harassment campaign which works towards raising awareness and supporting bystanders in intervention.

“I felt drawn towards the campaign, it’s good to lend my voice and be a part of something that has such a timely and important message to it,” he said.

“Being someone who’s grown up having a largely female following, I thought it made a lot of sense. Having a sister and a mother and a girlfriend, you want them to be able to go places and feel safe and feel like they can just relax in a busy public place or on the street.”

Research from the campaign found that 78 per cent of Australian women have experienced street harassment at least once, with First Nations, Black women, women of colour, women with a disability, women with low income, trans women, gender diverse and non-binary people being disproportionately impacted.

Cody Simpson is speaking out against public harassment. Picture: Nigel Hallett

“Research has shown that men are largely the perpetrators but I also think men could also largely be the solution as well if educated properly and aware enough to safely stand up to inappropriate situations,” he said.

“My whole life I’ve been in public places, around lots of people and you naturally see things. I’ve been in situations where I’ve had to intervene and say something.”

Using his voice for important issues has long been a priority for Simpson, who’s been in the spotlight since he was just 12 years old.

Now at 25, Simpson has headed into a new stage of life after taking a hiatus on his singing career to pursue professional swimming, something that led him to the Commonwealth Games this year.

“I couldn’t be happier with how it all went. It gave me a lot of motivation to keep improving, especially because I was able to see how far I’d come in just two years,” he said.

“It’s an interesting path that I’m taking that hasn’t really been walked before. There’s no blueprint.”

And while music will always be an option in the future, Simpson said he’s invested in his future in swimming for the time being.

“The fact that I have done what a lot of people didn’t expect me to be able to do already gives me hope for continued breaking of grounds, which I love to do,” he said.

“It’s a very satisfying thing to do things and dream very large and shoot for them every day. It’s nice to have something else to aim for now and to know that I can throw myself back into full time music when I’m finished.”