Nonviolent direct action is about confrontation. By acting, we engage in conflict with others, intervening in their daily lives and disrupting them. This raises tension, which can increase the risk that somebody gets hurt.

Nonviolent communication grants us the ability to engage with other people without causing them unintentional harm. It invites us to move away from notions of blame and judgement, to foster a quality of connection rooted in empathy.

When tensions rise at an action, how do you keep everyone calm and nonviolent? De-escalation is a valuable skill for all of us to learn to keep people around us safe. This training will help you learn how to calm down situations involving other rebels, members of the public, security guards and police.

We are keen to have as many Action Support crew as possible trained in deescalation so we can deliver safe and effective nonviolent actions. You are encouraged to take the training even if your primary role is something else.

The workshop will allow you to understand, discuss and try out some de-escalation skills - using scenarios appropriate for XR actions.

Find out more about Embedding Nonviolence in the Rebel Toolkit.

XR Deescalation