Why the push for Bystander Intervention?

By Christiana Paradis (she/her), Director of Title IX Compliance  

In Fall 2019, 18 colleagues and I were getting trained to become bystander intervention facilitators at Susquehanna. Our trainers posted the following anonymous poll: Have you or someone you know been affected by interpersonal violence? 100% of people in the room said yes. A few moments later we were asked a follow-up question: Could that situation have been different if a bystander had stepped in? 100% said yes.  

These stats have sat with me ever since that training. It was a jarring reminder that not only had every single colleague in that room known or experienced interpersonal violence (something we don’t talk about at work with colleagues), but also, that the situation could have been stopped or changed if one person had stepped in.  

There’s a lot to be said about the bystander effect. Research tells us that, when bystanders are alone, 75% helped when they thought a person was in trouble, but when a group of six people were together, only 31% helped. Often the larger the group, party or situation, the less likely it is for someone to intervene because we will often default to thinking “surely someone else will step in and do something.” But what if we could change that culture? What if instead, collectively we shifted the narrative and worked together to stop a situation, rather than hope someone else will do something? 

This is the goal of bystander intervention, to give students, faculty, and staff the tools they need to feel comfortable addressing harmful situations. Researchers have found that: 

“Preliminary evidence suggests that students who received bystander training engage in a greater variety of bystander actions than students in a control group. Additional evidence suggests that bystander approaches to violence prevention increased bystander intentions, promoted positive bystander behaviors, and reduce sexual aggression among college men and adolescent male athletes.” 

Change will not happen overnight, it will take time, it will take training and it will take practice! What are some ways to practice bystander intervention?  

• Start organizational meetings with a scenario and ask students how they would intervene using the 3 D’s (direct – delegate – distract)  
• Talk to friends, families, and peers about the importance of bystander intervention and violence prevention.  
• Practice in small ways. If you see something that makes you uncomfortable, directly let the person doing the behavior know that it bothers, you. Not only does this promote intervention but it also promotes healthy boundary setting.  

Want to get even more skilled at bystander intervention? Schedule a training for your organization by contacting the VIP Center at: vip@susqu.edu. While we will not solve the problem of interpersonal violence in one day, bystander intervention is one strategy that we know is effective and can be part of a larger toolkit to change our culture. Think back to that survey of my colleagues, 100% believed the situation could have been different had one person stepped in. You might be that one person in someone’s life.