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Interview with Jackson Katz - Part I

Dear Engaged Bystander:  As my year as the NSVRC blogger comes to a close, I thought about who are the people who can provide insights to carry us all forward. Jackson Katz immediately came to mind. He is one of the first to apply bystander thinking, interventions and strategies to prevent sexual violence. So I am thrilled to have had a chance to speak with him and add his words to these last few blogging days. 

For those of you who don’t know Dr. Katz, here is a brief bio: Jackson Katz is an activist, educator, author and filmmaker, internationally recognized for his groundbreaking work in the field of gender violence prevention education, particularly in the sports culture and the military. He co-founded the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program in 1993. MVP is one of the original bystander programs; it has been widely influential in the burgeoning field of bystander intervention. In 1997 he created the first worldwide domestic and sexual violence prevention program in the United States Marine Corps, a program he still directs. He and his MVP colleagues also work closely with the Air Force, Army and Navy in the development of their bystander programs. You might also know him through his educational videos for college and high school students, including Tough Guise: Violence, Media, and the Crisis in Masculinity (2000), Wrestling With Manhood (2002) and Spin the Bottle: Sex, Lies and Alcohol (2004) or his book, The Macho Paradox: Why Some Men Hurt Women and How All Men Can Help (2006). 
 
Part I:
 
Joan: What advice can you give to those of us invested in bystander approaches to preventing sexual violence? 
 
Jackson: I believe that bystander intervention – broadly understood – is the future of sexual assault prevention. But to be effective, we need a common and comprehensive understanding of the term ‘bystander.’ I prefer an expansive definition of ‘bystander’ that is rooted in social justice philosophy and education. Many people think of a bystander as someone who is present at the scene of a potential incident. Part of the confusion is how the word ‘bystander’ sounds; it sounds like it means ‘someone who is standing by.’  The way we have always used the term in the MVP program is to describe anyone who isn’t either a perpetrator or a victim in a given situation but is in a position to intervene before, during or after the act. Or a member of a peer culture that contains abusers or victims.  Or an authority figure in a position to enact prevention strategies.   In that sense virtually everyone is a bystander. The critical question is:  are you an empowered/active bystander or an inactive/passive bystander?   
 
To really transform our culture we need to go beyond simply teaching individuals the skills they need to intervene in given situations. We need to expand our thinking beyond the individual 20-year-old college or high school student, drinking at a party. For example, a person in a position of institutional authority, whether they’re a governor or mayor, university or college president, school superintendent or the principal of a high school, who does not use their position to initiate, fund and lead sexual violence prevention efforts, he or she is being a passive bystander. Individual skill building is important, but we need to look at systemic solutions. Unfortunately most people hear the word ‘bystander’ and only look at the very narrow frame of the individual response at the site of the abusive act.
 
Joan: Can you further explain the social justice-oriented approach to bystander intervention? 
 
Jackson: We have different levels of responsibility depending on where we sit on the continuum of social power. Of course individuals have a responsibility to act in their everyday lives and social worlds. But I am concerned that many bystander initiatives have moved away from the social justice roots of the bystander approach in a way that is both degendered and decontextualized.   It is useful to compare our approaches to working against ending sexual violence with anti-racist efforts.  For example, do blacks and whites have the same responsibility to work against racism in America? Most of us would agree that while we all need to fight racism, whites have a greater responsibility to act. The same is true of sexual violence. Do women have the same responsibility as men to interrupt sexual violence? When men commit the vast majority of it? (Whether the victims are women or men, girls or boys.) I believe women and men have complementary roles to play, but let’s not pretend that responsibility for prevention is shared equally between the sexes.
 
In our work to develop the MVP program in the early 1990s, social justice was our guiding philosophical foundation.  The question I was most interested in was: how do we get more men to speak up to challenge other men about how some of us behave toward women? At the time there were very few men involved in sexual assault prevention work. At MVP we settled on a strategy to address men not as perpetrators or potential perpetrators, but, as we said, as ‘empowered bystanders who can confront abusive peers.’ It was similar to challenging whites to speak out about racism, or heterosexuals to interrupt heterosexism.  Also, my idea to start MVP was not about the problem of sexual assault perpetrated by male student-athletes. It was about the role that sports play in the larger culture and particularly male culture. Men in sports often have enhanced status, and so we wanted them to use that status to help make it more acceptable for men to start challenging each other about how we treat women along a continuum of behaviors, ranging from sexist jokes and comments to sexual and domestic violence. Fairly soon thereafter we made the program mixed gender, addressing similar dynamics within female peer cultures and empowering women as bystanders as well. We’ve trained many thousands of women and girls, but we’ve never lost sight of the fact that ending men’s violence is more of a men’s than a women’s responsibility.    
 
Joan: How does this social justice approach challenge us in a way that individual change may not? 
 
Jackson: Solutions to social problems of the magnitude of sexual violence have to be social and institutional solutions. For example, there is no excuse for any college or university that has an athletic program NOT to have mandated sexual assault and relationship abuse prevention education for all student-athletes, coaches and athletic administrators.  If a college or university does not have this kind of programming – and hundreds do not -- it represents a failure of leadership at the level of the athletic director or university administration.   Sexual assault prevention education should be part of the student-athlete experience – for men and women, from the first moment a young student-athlete steps onto campus. For this to happen will require a shift in our expectations about  the role of campus leaders – university officials, athletic administrators, and coaches.  If they are not offering and requiring these kinds of programs, they are being passive bystanders and hence complicit in sexually abusive behaviors, many of which can be prevented.    The same logic about institutional responsibility on college campuses applies to leaders of Greek systems, housing, and other entities.
 
Look for tomorrow’s posting, Part II of this interview with Jackson Katz.
 
Warmly
Joan


Topics: Bystander | Community Response | Conferences/Trainings | Resources/materials | Skill building

Understanding the causal factors for rape builds the most effective prevention programs

Dear Engaged Bysander:  I recently heard the keynote from the annual MASOC/MATSA conference and was moved by the research Ray Knight presented. I know that sounds odd to be “moved” by research, but I was. It was a fabulous presentation and what I loved about it was that he challenged us to base our prevention programs on research evidence – more than just good ideas.

 
Knight argued that all prevention programs need to be focused on the causal factors of rape and not the correlates. What does that mean in plain English? If we want to be successful at stopping any social problem or disease we need to look at the factors that CAUSE that problem.  As an example, he showed a great cartoon of a caveman with tons of children saying “How do we prevent pregnancy when we don’t even know the cause of it?”
 
He then presented a model which offers a separation of the causal risk factors and the correlates to these factors. He suggests that prevention programs which focus on these causal risk factors will be more successful in the long run. The causal risk factors in his study included:
·         Hypersexuality
·         Callous/Unemotional
·         Antisocial behavior
 
The correlates that he specifically studied included: 
·         Alcohol use
·         Distorted perceptions
·         Rape attitudes
·         Pornography use
 
As he went into more detail, he offered compelling arguments that we as professionals need to read ALL of the literature. In this case there are often very distinct realms that rarely share knowledge – those who work with sex offenders and those who work on college campuses. He also demonstrated that the risk factors for adult rapists are not completely aligned with the risk factors for child molesters. In particular, this showed up in rape attitudes and distorted perceptions. So we need to be sure that we don’t use the same programs with college students as we may use in a program for children and youth. 
 
Finally, he talked about the impact of the environment on the individual – the environment and particularly toxic stress can affect the brain and even affect the genes of a child or adolescent. The “can” means that there are some individuals who are more vulnerable to the stress in their environment. So from a primary prevention point of view, addressing these stressors can also affect the ability of an individual to live safely (regardless of their proclivity to offend). 
 
So what are the implications for all of this? Certainly we need more research on this topic. But in the meantime, our bystander programs need to be sure to address the causal risk factors for rape IF we truly want to be successful. Understanding the impact of correlates is essential, but if we only target these correlates, we will not be able to get to the root of the problem. 
 
I would strongly suggest that you take a closer look at the article by Knight, Knight and Brown-McBride OR take the time to listen to this keynote. Both a podcast and the powerpoint from his keynote at the annual MASOC/MATSA conference is available on the MASOC website. 
 
Let me know what you think!
Warmly
Joan
Topics: Bystander | Research Reviews | Conferences/Trainings | Resources/materials

xCHANGE Featuring Dr. Victoria Banyard -- Save the Date

Dear Engaged Bystander:  The xCHANGE is a really unique opportunity to talk with Dr. Victoria Banyard, a nationally recognized expert on bystander intervention and the lead researcher of the UNH program, Bringing in the Bystander.  Here are the details:

 

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center is pleased to announce the first in a series of online forums that will focus on supporting the xCHANGE of information between advocates, prevention educators and researchers.  The forums are free and all you need to participate is a user account at nsvrc.org.
 
Our first xCHANGE Forum will support the National Sexual Assault Awareness Month 2011 Campaign and features Dr. Victoria Banyard moderating a discussion on bystander intervention. 
Save the Date!


Join us on April 12 from 2:30-3:30 PM Eastern where a live real time xCHANGE of information will occur on the effectiveness of bystander intervention approaches moderated by Dr. Victoria Banyard. Bystander intervention serves as the central theme and approach in the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s 2011 Sexual Assault Awareness Month Campaign: It’s Time…to Get Involved.


If you cannot join us on April 12th please participate in the continued discussion on bystander intervention that will occur through April 15th. This exchange will not be a real time discussion but the forum will be open for questions, responses and comments; responses will be posted daily.


More information and how to participate is available online.  If you have any questions or need any assistance logging in or creating an NSVRC account please contact Jenn Benner at jbenner@nsvrc.org.     
 
 
warmly

joan

Topics: Bystander | Conferences/Trainings | Examples of Talking about It | Resources/materials | Skill building

The Guts to Create a World We Want to Live In

Dear Engaged Bystander:  In this blog, I invited Jennifer Rauhouse of Peer Solutions to talk about her work to engage bystanders in sexual violence prevention.

 

Joan: Can you tell me about your approach to bystander intervention: 

Jennifer: To really have an impact, we have learned why and how to move beyond individual level bystander interventions. We believe that we all must shift away from putting the responsibility on the person harmed to prevent their own assault. We need to empower communities to be a part of the solution while holding those that harm accountable for their actions. 

 
Joan: I am intrigued in what you have learned about HOW to engage people:
Jennifer: One important strategy we use at Peer Solutions is to use the words victimization, perpetration and bystander-intervention as verbs rather than nouns. This approach focuses on the behaviors we want to change while avoiding labels, stereotypes, myths and blame. When used as verbs, victimization and perpetration also mean the same thing. The action we want to encourage is to place full accountability on the person harming. Community level activities can then be focused on learning why individuals victimize as well as understanding and working to prevent the perceived norms that perpetuate the culture of harm. When the “Bystander Intervention” concept is used as a verb, we are able to empower everyone to be part of the solution. 
 
 Joan: Have you developed a specific program that focusing on engaging the community in taking on responsibility? 
Jennifer: When we begin, our STAND & SERVE members are activated to “build the world they want to live in” as a safe bystander strategy. We find it helpful to begin with that positive vision rather than focus on the individual skill building surrounding the infinite possibilities about what they “should” do if they see/hear of an individual planning to sexually assault another.   We have learned this strategy provides the best guarantee that our participants, who do witness a potentially dangerous situation, no matter where they are or what it is, when they perceive it to be safe, they will most definitely SPEAK UP and seek help.
 
Joan: How do you bring this positive world view into reality?
Jennifer: STAND & SERVE activities include weekly lunch meetings at local high schools, weekly after school meetings at community centers for elementary-post secondary level students and monthly STAND & SERVE Coalition meetings. In January of 2011, the STAND & SERVE Coalition launched THE GUTS TO BE GOOD (G2BG). Through G2BG we work towards creating a world where all humans are safe and are treated equally and with respect. G2BG promotes five simple acts of kindness.
 
1.       The guts to be RESPECTFUL,
2.       The guts to be COURTEOUS,
3.       The guts to SPEAK UP,
4.       The guts to be HONEST and
5.       The guts to LEND A HAND.
 
We believe it takes everyone to end sexual violence. We are all Peers, We are all the Solution. We would like to thank Carol Hensell at ADHS guiding and supporting our bystander approach for the past ten years. 
 
Click here for more information about the STAND & SERVE Coalition and their programs. Although their website is under-construction, but sure to check back in with them soon. 
 
Warmly
joan
Topics: Bystander | Community Response | Conferences/Trainings | Examples of Talking about It | Resources/materials | Skill building

FREE Online Bystander Course

Dear Engaged Bystander:  OK this is shameless promotion.  And I am letting you know about this new FREE online course because it is an easy to use, quick overview of the bystander approach to sexual violence prevention.

For about six months, I have been working with NEARI (the New England Adolescent Research Institute) and with NSVRC (National Sexual Violence Resource Center) to create a FREE online course based upon the booklet I wrote "Engaging Bystanders in Sexual Violence Prevention."  The online course allows us to build in links to useful resources, interactive exercises to help make the key issues clearer, and creates a mapping exercise for the student to build.  I would love to know what you think of the course if you can take an hour to review the work. 

 

Here is the official announcement and the link for this course:

 

The newly released Engaging Bystanders in Sexual Violence Prevention Online Course provides 1-2 hour, interactive tutorial on research, concepts, tools, and methods on effective bystander intervention. The tutorial, produced by The New England Adolescent Research Institute Inc. (NEARI) and sponsored by NSVRC, aims to educate and motivate individuals, groups, and communities to take action to prevent sexual violence. Joan Tabachnick, our bystander blogger, developed the online tutorial, basing it on an NSVRC publication released in 2008.

Please contact the NEARI Training Center info@nearipress.org with any technical questions regarding the course.

 

warmly

Joan

Topics: Bystander | Conferences/Trainings | Resources/materials | Skill building

Drawing the Line

Dear Engaged Bystander:   Here is a great event that you can go to in person or see online.  On November 10, 2010;  from  6:00pm - 8:00 pm EST, there is a FREE Film Screening of THE LINE, a documentary by Nancy Schwartzman.  This screening will be a great event that you can see online or in person.  The screening is then followed by a panel discussion with Q&A featuring some amazing folks: 

  • Nancy Schwartzman is the filmmaker and the founder of the THE LINE Campaign
  • Joseph Samalin is the Coordinator of Training & Technical Assistance at Men Can Stop Rape
  • Kelly McBride, of the Poynter Institute, is one of the leading voice in American journalism on how the media covers sexual assault.
  • Andrea (AJ) Plaid is the Sexual Correspondent for the race-and-pop culture blog Racialicious

To see it live (and you are in NYC), you can go to the WeNews Headquarters at 6 Barclay Street, 6th Floor New York, New York 10007.  Or you can see it live by Watching the event streaming live. Just click on the link and scroll to the bottom of the page.  

Either way, it should be a fantastic movie and discussion.

warmly

joan 
 

Topics: Bystander | Conferences/Trainings | Resources/materials

My Business: Countering Secrecy and Privacy Around Violence through Norms Change

Dear Engaged Bystander:  If you are not aware of these free web conferences through Prevent Connect, it is well worth your time.  Dorothy Edwards, the founder of the Green Dot Program will be one of the highlighted speakers.  She talks eloquently about a bystander approach to changing social norms to prevent sexual violence. 

Here is the information below: 

Registration is now open for the next PreventConnect web conference My Business: Countering Secrecy and Privacy Around Violence Through Norms Change. These sessions are the final topic of this year’s web conferences on changing norms to prevent sexual violence and domestic violence.

The web conference will take place on September 28, 2010 at 11:00am Pacific Time (2:00 Eastern Time) and will be repeated on September 29, 2010.

Invited guests include Dorothy Edwards, author of the well respected Green Dot Violence Prevention Strategy, and Vanessa Timmons, co-author of the August 2010 article in the American Journal of Public Health “You Don’t Go Tell White People Nothing”: African American Women’s Perspectives on the Influence of Violence ( IPV) and Race on Depression and Depression Care. The session will be led by Prevention Institute’s Annie Lyles and Christina Chang.

Click here to register and learn more about this web conference.  Sign up now before the session is full.

Topics: Bystander | Conferences/Trainings

A Really Simple Workshop Exercise

Dear Engaged Bystander: When I have the chance to lead a workshop, I am always struck by the strong social expectation that we all seem to hold -- when faced with a crisis, no one will step out of their comfort zone to offer help. 

One particularly powerful exercise I use is to ask people to turn to someone next to them and share a bystander story. I explicitly tell them that it does not have to be about sexual violence or inappropriate sexual behaviors. I usually offer an example and describe a situation where I saw an issue and stepped in to help.  The last one I used was sitting on an airplane and noticing that a woman was carrying a hot cup of coffee and trying to put away her luggage. We were all watching until I offered to hold her hot coffee. Then another passenger helped her lift her luggage to the overhead compartment and a third held onto her other bag. It is simple but shows how one action can have a domino effect and touch a number of surrounding people. 
 
I have heard many many stories through this simple exercise. But what strikes me each time is the common theme that begins with "when x happened, no one did anything" -- even when the person telling the story did something. Even when others joined in to help, the story is told with the theme, “when x happened, no one did anything…” 
 
During the workshop I try to talk about how to begin to retell the story.  "When x happened, I did not see anyone responding, so I did do/say something. And I found that once chose to act, that single action encouraged others to do/say something. ..”
 
Telling these stories with a sense of hope is so essential to changing how we respond to sexual violence, harassment, and events that are inappropriate or just uncomfortable. Often the people who choose to tell their story out loud bring up their doubts about whether they should have acted differently, did they do enough, and what other resources could they have used. This retelling of the story helps everyone in the room hear that something was done – and while it may not be the perfect response it was a clear and important beginning. 
 
So my thought is to take time in EVERY workshop to encourage people to share their positive stories, give them feedback about how important each action can be, and offer concrete examples that celebrate the small ways we can say or do something. 
 
Warmly
joan
Topics: Bystander | Conferences/Trainings