Counseling Services Bystander Effect

THE BYSTANDER EFFECT, WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
 

WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF...
...you saw a man was beating up his girlfriend in a public place?
...you saw someone hit another person's car and leave the scene?
...you witnessed a young male being shoved around by three other males and being called "gay"?
...you observed a man laying unconscious in the street after being struck by a moving vehicle?
...you saw a woman being sexually assaulted at a party?
 
WOULD YOU STAND AND WATCH, WALK AWAY OR INTERVENE?  THE SCENARIOS ABOVE ARE DEPICTIONS OF ACTUAL EVENTS WHERE PEOPLE DID JUST WALK BY, WATCH AND NOT INTERVENE.

Strategies for Becoming an Active Bystander

Why does the bystander effect occur? Watch these informative videos and learn the factors influencing the bystander effect:

Different roles of the bystander: 

Diffusion of reponsibility experiment:

College students discuss bystander effect:

For the full video about the bystander effect and how to be a part of the "Every Day Hero Pledge" contact http://www.raproject.org/

An Active Bystander:
• can intervene before sexual assault occurs
• can address sexist attitudes and beliefs to combat behavior that supports sexual violence
• is pro-social and intervene in ways that impact the
outcome positively
• can influence their peer group and community
• helps by simply checking in with someone to stop the momentum of something
bad happening: "Hey, we're all trying to have a good time, is everything
okay here?"

Create a safer community, by taking steps to be an
active bystander:
• Consider whether the situation demands some action
• Decide if you feel a responsibility to act
• Choose what form of assistance you can use to intervene - paying attention to safety issues and realistic responses
• Listen and be open to a victim seeking help
• Ask yourself, 'If I were in this situation, would I want someone to help me?'
• Even small interventions can make a big difference in a questionable situation (eg. a loud noise like a car horn)
• Just distracting someone, saying something, checking in with a person
can stop the momentum of something bad happening
• Use your cell phone (or any phone) to contact 9-1-1
• Speak up if someone is putting someone down
Extrapolated from: Delta: A place for women


To find out more information and resources about bystander effect and intervention visit:
NSVRC.org (National Sexual Violence Resource Center at:
http://www.nsvrc.org/projects/150/bystander-intervention-resources