The quarterly Catharsis Productions Leadership Workshop at Training Support Center (TSC) Great Lakes focused on recognizing and addressing harassment, hazing, and bullying Dec. 10.

For more than 12 years the organization has been holding workshops at TSC on a wide range of topics delivering the message of recognition and action.

“We want Sailors to be aware of the issues, recognize what is toxic so they can do something to eliminate the problem within our ranks," said Heather Imrie, Catharsis Productions facilitator. "it is important for our Sailors to know that if they see something they need to act."

Imrie also wants Sailors to know that there are always a whole group of people they can talk to if they are being harassed, hazed or bullied.

“I’m hoping that we make that shift to stepping up and intervening when we recognize toxic culture within our ranks,” she said. “There has been a lot of research that says bystander intervention training is the best practice in changing negative behaviors.”

The interactive workshop involved discussions of what is considered toxic behavior and what can be done by Sailors to intervene. Groups were set up to discuss scenarios and creating an action plan to address issues.

“The egregious stuff we get,” said Ben Murrie, Catharsis Productions facilitator. “We all know that not talking to anybody would stop verbal harassment. We also know that grabbing someone in inappropriate areas is also egregious. The problem we have is that gray area; not talking about it or pretending that everything goes to one of those black and white sides. It really keeps us hiding and keeping our heads in the sand and not paying attention. So, the interactive training allows us to get into the muck of it, talk about it and being able to apply some principles to some of the gray stuff so it is easier to deal with going forward."

The message is if you see something that is wrong or a situation that is going the wrong direction, every Sailor has the power to say or do something and that by doing so, we will change the culture.

"Training allows us to address behaviors that negatively impact our Sailors and our Navy and how we can combat those issues through vigilance and intervention,” said Cmdr. Jason Juergens, executive officer of TSC. “We are giving our Sailors practical tools and techniques to recognize early abusive warning signs, when to intervene, and how to prevent certain situations from developing into negative behaviors."

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