Bystander Programs: Accommodating or Derailing Sexism?

Abstract

Bystander programs implemented to meet federal requirements to reduce sexual assaults on college campuses in the United States must include primary prevention. Survey data (n = 280) and interview data (n = 20) presented in this paper explore students’ hypothetical and actual willingness to intervene as bystanders. Although most students surveyed (57%) claim they would be very likely to intervene, fewer than half would be very suspicious of someone leading away an intoxicated individual at a party (45% of women and 28% of men: p < 0.01). Interview data reveal how students perceive risk factors at college parties and what types of bystander measures they attempt, including “distractions”, a nonconfrontational tactic in which bystanders avoid more direct but socially risky interventions. Subsumed in many current bystander programs is an invisible element of valorizing harmony. Condoning bystanders’ unwillingness to directly confront seemingly predatory individuals could make change seem out of reach and could also embolden offenders whose behavior is observed and only temporarily thwarted.

What Does It Mean to Be a Young African Woman on a University Campus in Times of Sexual Violence? A New Moment, a New Conversation

“…The link between alcohol and sexual violence is well established in local and international literature [ 45 ]. Moreover, it is well known that substance abuse is used to ‘excuse’ the perpetration of sexual violence [ 46 ]. Yet, despite this knowledge, it appears that universities do not have strict enough practices to eliminate substance abuse on campus and its use to excuse acts of violence against women.…”

“…We believe that the GLC’s engagement in this project for the past five years has boosted their sense of individual and collective agency and has primed them to rethink how gender-based violence and sexual violence could be addressed. Indeed, the GLC is well accustomed to using visual methods to explore and address gender-based violence at university [ 46 ] and have had several opportunities to engage in dialogue with researchers and university policy-makers [ 47 , 48 ]. The collage and storytelling revealed their deep awareness as university students of the contextual drivers of sexual violence in the broader community, in their communities and on the university campus.…”

Pioneer Legislation on Second Order of Sexual Harassment: Sociolegal Innovation in Addressing Sexual Harassment

“…Extensive literature has been published on social movements and their power of transformation as well as student movements and their capacity to generate university improvements at different levels (Steinberg, 1991;Reid & Dundes, 2017). Current law during the late 1980s and early 1990s, mechanisms, orientation guides, programs, and specific offices were developed at North American universities as a result of student campaigns against harassment, and the role of student support groups would later be recognized by scholars (Gold & Villari, 2000;Freedman, 2013).…”

Aggressive confrontation shapes perceptions and attitudes toward racist content online

“…Confrontations are often perceived as interactions that are imbued with hostility or anger, but in reality, confrontation can also take a passive form. For example, when discrimination takes an ambiguous form and/or is difficult to interpret, confrontations often take a passive form, such as distraction, to diffuse the situation (Reid & Dundes, 2017). However, passive confrontations may lead to less behavioral change of the perpetrator since their transgressions are not challenged, and thus may continue to perpetuate this behavior.…”