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Indeed, the desire to provoke discussion A BYSTANDER old Catherine “Kitty” Genovese in
of action reflects a campaign based
in a paradigm of broader community responsibility, or what is commonly referred to as the bystander approach to intervention. The scenario I selected earlier also reflects a new and emerging interest in the relationship between sexual violence and new technologies, including how online spaces—like social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram—are influencing response (Fairbairn, Bivens & Dawson, 2013).
It is the intersection of bystander intervention and technology-facilitated sexual assault that has captured my interest and attention and led me to question both what makes this form of sexual violence unique and what does this mean for how people choose to act when witness to its occurrence?
Why a bystander approach to intervention?
Increasing recognition of sexual violence as a widespread problem has generated a growing literature on prevention efforts, and the call for interventions grounded in strong theoretical literature (Banyard, Plante, & Moynihan, 2005). Traditionally, sexual violence prevention programs focused almost exclusively on risk reduction for potential victims (such as teaching strategies to reduce one’s risk of assault) and targeting potential perpetrators (changing attitudes to prevent people from assaulting—mainly targeting men) (Burn, 2009). The field has recently shifted from targeting individuals to the mobilization of pro- social behavior on the part of those
who represent potential bystanders,
or witnesses, to sexually violent situations. It is argued that a bystander approach has the ability to move beyond traditional practices, particularly because of the ways in which people
are approached as potential allies rather than as victims or perpetrators. A bystander approach supports a move from instilling fear in potential victims and increasing defensive resistance among men, to building competency
in community members who may face opportunities to prevent or interrupt sexual violence, and provide support to survivors (Banyard, Plante, &
APPROACH HAS THE ABILITY TO MOVE BEYOND TRADITIONAL PRACTICES, PARTICULARLY BECAUSE OF THE WAYS IN WHICH PEOPLE ARE APPROACHED AS POTENTIAL ALLIES RATHER THAN AS VICTIMS OR PERPETRATORS.
Moynihan, 2004). Emphasis on the role that bystanders can play to prevent technology-facilitated sexual violence is a particularly timely concern, especially given the harm and re-victimization that we know occurs when online spaces are used as a means of power and control—a subject that continues to make headlines.
What is the history of bystander intervention as a science?
The study and theorization of bystander intervention is known to have originated in social psychology following the infamous rape and murder of 28-year-
Queens, New York in 1964. Of the 38 witnesses who reportedly either saw or overheard Ms. Genovese being attacked outside of her apartment building on the evening of her murder, not a single person took action to
help (Rosenthal, 1964). The failure of these bystanders to intervene, and
the media attention it drew, served
as the starting point for a program of research into determinants of bystander intervention (Latané & Darley, 1968; 1970). Latané and Darley theorized that factors affecting the process by which an individual interprets an emergency (such as recognizing that something is
a problem and taking responsibility for acting) are more important determinants of his or her actions than is a general motivation to help others. These researchers advanced the idea that
the presence of other people would prevent someone from intervening to help in an emergency; this is a concept that has become widely known as the “bystander effect.” The bystander effect suggests that the probability of helping is inversely related to the number of bystanders present; the greater the number of bystanders present, the less likely it is that a single bystander will intervene to help. In fact, the bystander effect is known to be one of the most replicated and well-founded phenomena in social psychology (Latané & Nida, 1981).
What do we know about
bystander theory for sexual violence prevention?
When it comes to the study of bystander behavior, most research has focused on emergency situations where individuals or property are at risk of physical harm (examples are fire, choking, mugging, or epileptic seizure) and much less attention has been given to serious situations
that fall outside traditional definitions of what constitutes an emergency, including forms of sexual violence. Of the studies that specifically explore bystanders to sexual assault, much of what is theorized is in the context of acquaintance sexual assault on college and university campuses (Burn, 2009). Very little research explores bystander
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