5 Ways to Foster Cultures of Active Bystanders at Home and in the Community

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
—Elie Wiesel

Bystander research was initially spurred by sensational and disturbing news reports ¬— later criticized for inaccuracies — of the case of Catherine “Kitty” Genovese, who was brutally stabbed to death in Queens, N.Y., in 1964, while dozens of bystanders reportedly watched from their apartments and did nothing to help her. In the 55 years since this momentous event, our growing understanding of the fundamental importance of bystander behavior in shaping our society has evolved through three stages of research: (1) observation; (2) experimentation; and (3) intervention.

In the first stage, bystander behavior was simply observed and described in a variety of situations. In the second stage, key individual factors were experimentally manipulated to help us understand why some bystanders act to help others in need, while others do not. It was not until about 1989 that our current third stage of bystander intervention research began, with the realization that individuals, groups and communities could be taught to become active bystanders, who are prepared to help others in need. This line of research was later fueled by Columbine (1999) and other school shootings and bullying episodes.

In the last 30 years, many research-based bystander intervention programs have proven to be powerful educational strategies for addressing various harmful social behaviors — including bullying, school shootings, men’s violence against women and other gender role-related violence. Many bystander intervention programs now offer a wealth of knowledge, strategies and skills-building exercises to help bystanders prepare to respond effectively when facing particular social problems.

At a broader level, we can foster a culture of active bystanders, with support at home and in the community, by addressing the fundamentals of helpful bystander behavior. Here are five key elements that can be developed through discussion, specific examples, role-playing exercises, guided practice and real-life modeling of behavior.

1. Bystander Agency. Many bystanders fail to realize that by their mere presence, they have an influence on how others behave, whether or not they intend to. For example, bystanders can encourage bullying behavior in various ways — by providing an audience, passively accepting, egging on or joining in with the bullying. But bystanders can learn to become aware of their influence, and then to deliberately act in a helpful way, thereby developing a sense of personal “agency” as helpful bystanders.
2. Bystander Efficacy Beliefs. Some people believe that bystanders cannot be effective if they try to help. They may hold: (a) the general belief that bystanders cannot help to stop any form of violence; (b) specific beliefs that bystanders cannot help to stop violence in specific situations; and/or (c) a personal belief that they themselves are incapable of helping to stop violence. Although such efficacy beliefs can prevent people from becoming active bystanders, these beliefs can be changed through discussions, examples and modeling about how bystanders can effectively help.
3. Bystander Empathy. Empathy for others in need is often a key motivator for bystanders to attempt to help. Bystander empathy can be encouraged to grow beyond immediate friends and relatives to include feelings of caring and concern for acquaintances, strangers and all people in need. “Love thy neighbor” can grow to include all of our world neighbors.
4. Bystander Social Support. Bystanders are more likely to report violence or to intervene if they feel that others will support them. When people receive bystander intervention training in group settings, they become more confident that others in the group will also be ready to help. If a group of bystanders surround a victim, they can be effective in protecting the victim without having to directly confront the person who is bullying. For child bystanders to feel confident reporting incidents of bullying or signs of potential violence, they need to develop trusting relationships with adults who will honor the child’s trust, take their reports seriously, maintain their anonymity, if needed, and provide help.
5. Bystander Skills. In building bystander skills, it is helpful to think ahead and plan a variety of responses geared to typical bullying or violent situations, while also considering safety and practicality. For example, when facing a bullying situation, if a bystander feels safe to directly intervene, he can tell the bully to stop, distract or redirect, become a peacemaker or urge the victim or bully to walk away. If a bystander does not feel safe intervening alone, he can get help from a trusted adult, rally support from other bystanders, join others to quietly protect or remove the victim or console and give support to the victim during or even after the incident has ended.

Examples of research-based bystander intervention programs co-developed by the author:

• Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders (AVB): Thinking and Acting to Prevent Violence
http://www.promisingpractices.net/program.asp?programid=161
The first evidence-based program to prepare bystanders (together with aggressors and victims) to help prevent violence among middle school students.

• Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP)
https://www.northeastern.edu/sportinsociety/program/mentors-in-violence-prevention/
One of the original sports-themed bystander intervention programs to prepare athletes, high school and college students and military personnel to help prevent men’s violence against women and other gender role-related violence.

• Eyes on Bullying: What Can You Do?
• Eyes on Bullying in Early Childhood
http://eyesonbullying.org
Skills-building resources and toolkits designed for all adult caregivers (including parents, grandparents, teachers, counselors, coaches, camp personnel, youth workers and healthcare professionals) to prepare preschool-age and school-age children and youth to help prevent bullying.

• Boston vs. Bullies
https://sportsmuseum.org/program/boston-vs-bullies/
An award-winning educational program featuring video testimony by professional athletes and skills-building toolkits to prepare school-age children to help prevent bullying from the perspective of bullies, victims and bystanders.

Citation:
Slaby, R. (2019, October 2). 5 Ways to Foster Cultures of Active Bystanders at Home and in the Community [Web page]. Retrieved from https://melissainstitute.org/cultures-of-active-bystanders/