Engaging Bystanders to Prevent Sexual Violence A Guide for Preventionists National Sexual Violence Resource Center 2013. All rights reserved. This document was supported by Cooperative Agreement #5VF1CE001751-03 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC. The content of this publication may be reprinted with the following acknowledgement: This material was reprinted, with permission, from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s publication titled Engaging Bystanders to Prevent Sexual Violence: A Guide for Preventionists. This guide is available by visiting www.nsvrc.org Engaging Bystanders to Prevent Sexual Violence A Guide for Preventionists Sexual violence affects men and women throughout the lifespan and can have negative impacts on individuals and their relationships, on the community, and on society as a whole. Addressing the negative social norms that make sexual violence possible can help prevent its occurrence and make the world a safer and better place. This guide provides examples of successful implementations of bystander intervention programs and strategies. The goal of this guide is to support community-based sexual violence prevention programs in building their capacities to integrate and sustain bystander intervention programs or strategies within the communities they serve. Community-based sexual violence prevention programs are well-positioned to engage in community mobilization and promote a bystander intervention program or strategy within their communities. Local community- based sexual violence prevention programs play an instrumental role in educating people regarding the full range of inappropriate behaviors that contribute to a culture that is supportive of rape behaviors. They have experience working within their community to create positive social change. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) contacted six organizations that employ various bystander programs and strategies to gather information about their unique approaches to bystander intervention. This guide provides a description of each bystander intervention approach and highlights the common themes and lessons that local community-based sexual violence prevention programs can apply to their own organizations to start their bystander intervention programs or strategies. Section One: Overview of Bystander Intervention People often witness situations that impact how they feel, act, and relate to others. In everyday life, people are given opportunities to change what they see, hear, or witness to make their community a better place; one built on the values of safety, respect, and equality. Taking the time to intervene and stop harassment, bullying, or violence can make a significant difference in someone’s life, and can make the world a better place. It also helps to send a powerful message to the perpetrator and society about what social norms are acceptable and unacceptable. Research has shown that third parties, or bystanders, prevented injuries in an average of 1.2 million violent victimizations per year between 1993 and 1999 (Planty, 2002). Preventing sexual violence is a key component of the work of community-based sexual violence prevention and advocacy programs. Effective sexual violence primary prevention programs utilize strategies on societal, community, relationship, and individual levels. If people learn the skills to be safe, engaged bystanders, victimizations can be prevented. Positive social norms, such as mutual respect and tolerance, can be strengthened and fostered. Studies on bystander intervention show potential positive effects for this primary- prevention approach to ending sexual violence (Banyard, Plante, & Moynihan, 2005; Coker et. al., 2011; Moynihan & Banyard, 2008; Moynihan, Banyard, Arnold, Eckstein, & Stapleton, 2011). By developing a bystander program or strategy, preventionists potentially reach a broader range of community members who would not otherwise be engaged in sexual violence prevention. The bystander approach lends itself well to reaching a broader range of community members because it gives people a role in preventing violence and helping to create positive social change. It trains community members on how to identify unhealthy behaviors, and provides skills on how to interrupt those behaviors (NSVRC, 2013). (picture of three older gentlemen kneeling and working in a garden) Key terms • An engaged bystander is someone who intervenes in a positive way before, during, or after a situation or event in which they see or hear behaviors that promote sexual violence (NSVRC, 2013). The bystander approach attempts to teach community members how to be engaged bystanders in a safe and effective way. • Primary prevention activities take place before violence happens to prevent perpetration or victimization. Rape Myths Early researchers helped pave the way toward our understanding of rape myths. According to Burt (1980), rape myths are “prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims, and rapists — in creating a climate hostile to rape victims.” Burt continues, “[the] effect of rape myths is to deny or reduce perceived injury or to blame the victims for their victimization” (p. 217). Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) pose another definition: “Rape myths are attitudes and beliefs that are generally false but are widely and persistently held, and that serve to deny and justify male sexual aggression against women” (p. 134). The basic elements of many bystander intervention programs or strategies include: • Identifying the continuum of sexual violence. • Dispelling common rape myths. • Teaching people ways to respond when they see behaviors that promote a culture of sexual violence. • Teaching community members how to effectively respond to a victim(1): what to say, what not to say, and what to do when someone discloses victimization to them. Responding appropriately to a person who has experienced sexual violence is important to that individual’s healing journey. (1) Throughout this document, the terms “victim” and “survivor” are used interchangeably to be inclusive of the various ways people who have experienced sexual violence may identify. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) recognizes and supports the use of person-first terminology that honors and respects the whole person, which is also reflected in this document. Finally, NSVRC acknowledges that individuals should ultimately choose the language that is used to describe their experiences and therefore, supports advocacy approaches that are person-centered and that use the terminology preferred by individuals they serve. Changing social norms There are three benefits of a bystander approach: It discourages victim blaming, offers people the chance to change social norms, and shifts responsibility to prevent sexual violence from the victim or perpetrator to everyone (Tabachnick, 2009). Instead of sexual violence being a personal problem of the survivor and perpetrator, the bystander approach advocates that sexual violence is a community problem; one that everyone who is able has the responsibility to prevent. This is important because research has shown that many people still see rape as an individual problem, and many do not understand the full continuum of sexual violence (O’Neil & Morgan, 2010). The continuum of sexual violence includes a range of behaviors that are connected, including rape, incest, and behaviors that are normalized in society — such as sexual harassment, sexist attitudes and behaviors, and rigid gender roles (Guy 2006; McMahon, 2011). Sexual violence is connected to such other forms of oppression as racism, classism, and heterosexism. Sexual violence happens, in part, because many community social norms support such behavior. There are five damaging social norms that are thought to support a culture of sexual violence (Davis, Parks, & Cohen, 2010): • Objectifying and oppressing women. • Promoting violence. • Promoting power over another. • Promoting damaging views of masculinity. • Supporting and promoting secrecy and silence surrounding violence. The bystander approach is an effective model that can change these negative and damaging social norms (Potter & Stapleton, 2011). Intervening as engaged bystanders can help foster positive social norms that encourage positive relationships, are based on respect, equality, safety and are free from sexual violence in all its forms. Bystander intervention programs or strategies are primary-prevention tools a community can utilize to promote healthy social norms which, in turn, can decrease the incidence of sexual violence (Fabiano, Perkins, Berkowitz, Linkenbach, & Stark, 2003). A change in social norms that promotes healthy, respectful relationships in place of actions and behaviors that support rape culture is needed to prevent sexual violence. A bystander approach accomplishes this by shifting the responsibility of preventing rape from an individual problem to a community problem, educating people to understand the full range of inappropriate behaviors that contribute to rape culture as well as strategies they can use to interrupt that culture. Section Two: Examples of Bystander Intervention Programs & Strategies There are many bystander intervention programs and strategies, some of which have been scientifically evaluated for their effectiveness in influencing participants’ attitudes, willingness to intervene, and helping behaviors (Banyard, Moynihan, & Plante, 2007; Cissner, 2009; Coker et al., 2011; Potter, 2012). A number of prevention programs and strategies engage community members through in-person programs, and a few teach prevention through social marketing campaigns, online interactive games, and digital applications. Most of these prevention strategies have components that train community members to be engaged bystanders. What distinguishes bystander intervention from other primary prevention approaches is that they teach participants about actions and attitudes that promote sexual violence and provide training on how to respond in a wide variety of settings. Here are six highlighted programs and strategies that utilize the bystander intervention model in their prevention work: 1.Green Dot Green Dot was developed by Dr. Dorothy Edwards to increase active bystander responses and reduce sexual, dating, and stalking violence on college campuses. The program was designed to help community members evaluate situations for potential violence, assess their options, and choose a safe bystander action. Participants are taught to identify green dots and red dots. A red dot indicates a moment in time when someone contributes to violence in any way (harmful behaviors, choices, and words). Red dots are acts “of power-based personal violence (partner violence‚ sexual violence, stalking, bullying, child abuse, or elder abuse) — a choice to tolerate‚ justify or perpetuate this violence” (Green Dot, 2010b). A green dot is “any behavior‚ choice‚ word‚ or attitude that promotes safety for all our citizens and communicates utter intolerance for violence” (Green Dot, 2010b). Participants in the program are encouraged to identify an event, action, or behavior that constitutes a red dot, and engage in behaviors that are considered green dots to address the red dots. The goal of the program is to equip participants to displace red dots and increase green dots, and therefore promote greater safety and intolerance of sexual violence. (picture of several people trying to push a jeep out of the sand) There are three components of the program: a motivational speech on bystander intervention, an interactive bystander training program, and a social marketing campaign. The motivational speech can range from five to 60 minutes and introduces the audience to the Green Dot program, creates a shared vision and language, and generates buy-in (Green Dot, 2010a). The training component is interactive and consists of role-playing and other activities. This component ranges from six hours to a weekend-long retreat (Green Dot, 2010a). While anyone in the community can participate in the training, Green Dot emphasizes the importance of training community members who have the most influence (Green Dot, 2010a). For example, on one college campus, the training component is called Students Educating and Empowering to Develop Safety. Student participants were chosen to attend a Green Dot bystander training using a Peer Opinion Leaders (POL) strategy. This strategy selected students who have an influence in a particular community of students. The rationale behind this is that by having a leader in the community, bystander behaviors will be more readily accepted by community members (Coker et al., 2011). A broad range of social marketing materials are available for communities (Green Dot, 2010a). (picture of 2 young men looking at a document taken from above) The Green Dot program is designed to be a template program that is adaptable and customizable to many community settings (J. M. Sayre, personal communication, December 6, 2012). Green Dot is based on the following theories, data, and research: social diffusion theory, bystander literature, perpetrator data, and marketing research (Green Dot, 2010d). Green Dot has been scientifically evaluated for its effectiveness. In a study of college undergraduates, respondents who attended a Green Dot bystander training reported less acceptance of rape myths and dating violence than students who had not been exposed to the program. Students exposed to Green Dot also were more likely to report observing and engaging in active bystander behaviors as opposed to those students who did not receive Green Dot programming (Coker et al., 2011). The Green Dot program was developed and piloted at the University of Kentucky campus by Edwards. The organization, Green Dot etc., was then built around the program to provide training and technical assistance to communities that wish to institute the program (J. M. Sayre, personal communication, December 6, 2012). Effective Prevention “Effective prevention is best informed by a lifespan approach. What we know is that there are developmental trends, risks, and protective factors across different periods of development. If we tailor our program to make it work with instead of against natural developmental progress, we are going to maximize our impact” (J. M. Sayre, personal communication, December 6, 2012). (picture of students sitting at a table discussing a paper with other students standing over their shoulders) Green Dot etc. does not implement the program in local communities, but provides training to instructors, preventionists, and other community leaders so that they can go back into their communities and customize the Green Dot program, especially for their constituents’ needs (J. M. Sayre, personal communication, December 6, 2012). This allows communities who might not have the time, resources, or expertise to develop a theory-driven, well-researched program that is easily adaptable to their community’s needs. Initially developed for college students, the curriculum has been adapted for high school and middle school students and students in kindergarten through third grade (J. M. Sayre, personal communication, December 6, 2012). A broad range of schools and organizations have received Green Dot training, including colleges and universities, high schools, the military, and community and statewide organizations (Green Dot, 2010c). After participating in the training, Green Dot etc. provides technical assistance to sites to help them institute their program in their community. Trainers are encouraged to incorporate a diverse population into the planning and execution of the program within their community (J. M. Sayre, personal communication, December 6, 2012). 2.Know Your Power® Bystander Social Marketing Campaign Know Your Power® is a social marketing campaign that draws on the main tenets of the Bringing in the Bystander® In-Person Prevention Program, which is a series of 21 images modeling engaged bystander behavior (J. G. Stapleton, personal communication, May 29, 2013). Know Your Power® was developed by Prevention Innovations: Research and Practices for Ending Violence Against Women at the University of New Hampshire. Campaign images are designed to be used as posters, table tents, bus wraps, digital images, and bookmarks. Initially, the images were intended to function as a companion piece to the Bringing in the Bystander® program, however, they were found to be effective as standalone pieces (J. G. Stapleton, personal communication, December 6, 2012). The campaign was started in 2004 because program leaders began to see less people attend in-person trainings. This reflected a trend that people were increasingly using digital media and other online communications. Project developers needed to think of a new and creative way to reach their intended audience without students having to come to an in-person training (J. G. Stapleton, personal communication, December 6, 2012). The images display typical campus scenarios that model preventative bystander behavior before, during, and after an incidence of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, or stalking (Potter & Stapleton, 2011). The tagline for the campaign is “Know Your Power. Step In, Speak Up. You Can Make A Difference” (Potter, Stapleton, & Moynihan, 2008). Know Your Power® posters are hung on college campuses; this is a medium many college students are used to seeing in their everyday lives. The posters depict someone saying or doing something objectionable or a situation where violence could occur and there is an opportunity for a bystander to intervene. Bringing in the Bystander ® Bringing in the Bystander® is a package of in-person bystander intervention tools that can be utilized by communities. The prevention program was developed by Prevention Innovations at the University of New Hampshire. Know Your Power® is the social marketing component to the in-person educational training. The tools can work in tandem with one another, as well as separately. The in-person workshop is designed for college students as a single program or a multisession program. Both programs are comprised of single-sex groups, led by a team composed of a woman and a man (Banyard, Plante, & Moynihan, 2005). Studies indicate the program might increase pro-social (any behavior that helps others) bystander intervention and positive change in attitudes (Banyard et al., 2007; Moynihan et al., 2011). Research has shown that combining the in-person program with Know Your Power® enhances the positive impacts of prevention tools on some attitudes (Banyard et. al., 2013). Bringing in the Bystander® has been adapted for use by the U.S. military, and a pilot study indicated that soldiers who have taken part in the program were more likely to exhibit bystander behaviors (Potter & Moynihan, 2011). Know your Power ® Campaing Images (2 Pictures of individuals talking with text bubbles over each persons head) The Know Your Power® bystander intervention social marketing campaign was developed by University of New Hampshire, Prevention Innovations: Research and Practices for Ending Violence Against Women. Know Your Power® is a federally registered trademark of the University of New Hampshire and is used here with permission from the University of New Hampshire. Know your Power ®: Why a media campaign? “Less and less people were voluntarily attending [prevention] programs … more people were tied to their computer screens, and now their phones. We recognized that maybe having our target audience literally in front of us was not always going to be a possibility. So [we had to think about] what are the other ways we can transmit the prevention information and teach people knowledge and skills?” (J. G. Stapleton, personal communication, December 6, 2012). Through the images and dialogue, bystanders are instructed on how to intervene safely in that situation. The face of the perpetrator is never shown, and there is always text explaining how the bystander can act to make a difference (J. G. Stapleton, personal communication, December 6, 2012). These images can be used independently (Potter 2012; Potter, Moynihan, & Stapleton, 2011; Potter, Moynihan, Stapleton, & Banyard, 2009) or can be used in conjunction with an active in-person bystander program to complement training and to model active bystander roles to reach a larger campus audience (Potter et al., 2008). The images are continuously being updated in terms of dialogue and scenarios to stay relevant with the current student population (Potter & Stapleton, 2011). The target audience is included in all aspects of the development, design, and management of the campaign (Potter & Stapleton, 2011). While the program was piloted on the University of New Hampshire campus, the campaign has been adopted by 30 colleges and universities around the United States. Among others, the Know Your Power® campaign has been adapted and customized for the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, University of California Merced, Boise State University, and the University of Florida. The campaign has been adapted and piloted for a U.S. Army post in Europe (J. G. Stapleton, personal communication, December 6, 2012). Social self-identification The campaign is most effective when the target audience identifies that the campaign images look like them, occur in familiar environments and social settings, and the actors use the target audience’s everyday language. This concept of social self-identification indicates that when people see themselves in the images and see situations that are familiar to them, they are more likely to take action (Potter et al., 2011). “It is important to go to the target audience during the development of scenarios and images to ensure that the campaign scenarios, dialogue, and images resonate with them and have the desired effect” (J. G. Stapleton, personal communication, December 6, 2012). It is important that the target audience identifies with the scenarios, people or dialogue in the images. Details in the images matter, such as: • Clothing • Geography • Race and Ethnic culture • Language • Setting (picture of 2 women and 1 man in winter clothing talking outside in a fall setting) For example, more than 250 University of California, Merced students were recruited to participate in focus groups to adapt the Know Your Power® campaign so that it resonated with their campus (Mansager, 2011). The students’ feedback was used to translate and adapt the campaign images for the UC Merced campus. Evaluations of exposure to the Know Your Power® Bystander Social Marketing Campaign show that the campaign can (Potter, 2012; Potter et al., 2011; Potter et al., 2009): 1. Be effective in raising target audience members’ awareness of the problems of sexual and relationship violence and stalking. 2. Increase target audience members’ knowledge of how to safely intervene in cases of sexual and relationship violence. 3. Increase target audience members’ willingness to get involved in reducing violence. 4. Increase the likelihood that target audience members have acted as an active bystander in a situation where sexual and relationship violence is about to occur, is occurring, or has occurred. A more recent evaluation of the campaign indicates that this social marketing tool can change undergraduate students’ behavior. Students’ acceptance of rape myths decreased, and bystander behavior increased for those students who felt the images were accurate and realistic. This supports engaging the target audience in creating the content of social marketing campaigns (Potter & Stapleton, 2013). Mentors in Violence Prevention: Inviting conversation “We live in a culture that is inherently sexist, and there is a male hierarch[ical] dynamic … [we need to be] honest about that dynamic and … [facilitate MVP] in a way that is inviting to conversation and challenge, not condemning people and shutting people down” (J. O’Brien, personal communication, November 29, 2012). 3.Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) is a leadership program that encourages men and women to redefine masculinity and reject social norms that equate masculinity with power over women. The program was developed in 1993 at Northeastern University’s Center for the Study of Sport in Society and the National Consortium for Academics & Sports (MVP, n.d.). The MVP program works with athletes, military units, college personnel, and high school and college students. It also has partnered with businesses, halfway houses, and youth detention centers. (J. O’Brien, personal communication, November 29, 2012). The program was initially designed to train college and high school male athletes to speak out against “… rape, battering, sexual harassment, gay bashing, and all forms of sexist abuse and violence” (MVP, n.d.). Since then, the program expanded to include women as leaders to address these issues. MVP’s approach to bystander intervention is to work with men and women who have the power to influence their peers and to use that power to promote positive relationship behaviors among peer groups and networks (Katz, Heisterkamp, & Fleming, 2011). MVP trainings occur in single- and mixed-gender settings, and promote prevention roles for women and men. The program is designed to challenge social norms and get people to ask questions about why they should intervene to prevent violence. It is built on a social justice platform, where the dynamics of power and privilege are discussed. According to Jeff O’Brien of MVP, “Women and men both need to talk about power and privilege and men’s violence against women and not be told about it” (Personal communication, November 29, 2012). MVP utilizes the Socratic method to teach the concepts of the MVP program. The Socratic method is a form of teaching that uses questions, inquiry, and debate to stimulate critical thinking to learn about an idea or concept as an alternative to lecturing students (Center for Teaching and Learning, 2003). These discussions create “positive challenges” for participants; there is tension that makes for a richer conversation (J. O’Brien, personal communication, November 29, 2012). “If you are in a room full of men and talking about men’s violence against women, that inherently can create some tension — we like to call it ‘healthy tension’” (J. O’Brien, personal communication, November 29, 2012). MVP facilitates conversations in same-sex groups. According to O’Brien, the goal is to get people to a place where they’re utilizing the kind of healthy tension that occurs within same-sex groups (personal communication, November 29, 2012). The MVP program has been evaluated for its effectiveness in decreasing participants’ sexist attitudes and increasing their self-efficacy to prevent gender violence. A 2009 study of the MVP program adapted for Syracuse University found that participants reported less sexist attitudes and gained a greater sense of their ability to intervene to prevent gender violence after completing the program (Cissner, 2009). Another study indicated that high school students exposed to the MVP program were more likely to identify harmful behaviors as wrong, and were more likely to intervene than those who were not exposed to the program (Katz et al., 2011). Studies of the MVP program adapted for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marines also have shown promising results, especially among participants in entry-level pay grades, E1-E3. This suggests that training personnel as early as possible could maximize the impact of the bystander intervention program (Hollingsworth, Ramey, & Hadley, 2011). Involvement in the Oasis Peer Education Network “Every age, race, socioeconomic, and gender identity is represented in our Advocacy Training. Every individual’s [youth’s] experiences are utilized when brainstorming bystander scenarios and intervention methods that work for [the LGBTQ] community” (E. McCready, personal communication, February 14, 2013) 4.Oasis Youth Center The Oasis Youth Center is a program of the Pierce County AIDS Foundation. It is a drop-in support and resource center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth ages 14-24 (Oasis, n.d.a). According to Oasis’ mission, “Oasis enhances and sustains the health and well-being of LGBTQ youth by saving individual lives, building community, and developing young leaders who can change the world. Oasis is a youth-adult partnership; young people and adults come together for shared teaching, learning and action” (Oasis, n.d.b). The Oasis approach to violence prevention combines culturally specific prevention and advocacy services with youth leadership development to offer each youth member an individualized experience among a community of supportive peers and adults (E. McCready, personal communication, February 14, 2013). Oasis offers more than 21 hours of weekly drop-in time for youth in a safe and welcoming environment. The center offers youth an opportunity to relax and meet people, as well as the following resources (E. McCready, personal communication, February 14, 2013): • Comprehensive prevention and education services, which include sexual assault prevention and peer bystander intervention training. Youth have access to HIV education and testing and assistance with navigating social, educational and legal systems. Oasis hosts events that focus on violence prevention in the form of the arts, such as an open mic night. • Advocacy and crisis intervention services for youth who are victims of crime, including sexual violence and hate crimes. Referral services are available for HIV case management and housing. Youth also are offered free vouchers for counseling and conflict resolution and a 24-hour emergency hotline. • LGBTQ youth are offered meaningful opportunities for youth leadership development and volunteerism. The Oasis Peer Advocacy Program is an in-depth, four-session training for LGBTQ youth. This training was developed by Oasis Youth Center staff and youth in order to give LGBTQ youth the tools they need to take action within their communities to reduce sexual violence and dating violence. Oasis’ Peer Advocacy Training includes an in-depth bystander intervention component called Oasis Peer Education Network (OPEN). “In doing extensive research, I couldn’t find any similar sexual assault prevention programs specific to LGBTQ youth. As a result, Oasis youth and I developed a peer advocacy training component that provides selected youth peer leaders with a four-week bystander intervention training. Oasis youth know from personal experience that they are at risk for sexual violence, and they want to know how to advocate for themselves and their peers” (E. McCready, personal communication, February 14, 2013). The Peer Advocacy Program includes the following training sessions (E. McCready, personal communication, February 14, 2013): 1. In the first session, youths learn about the root causes of sexual violence, consent, the law, and how rape culture impacts LGBTQ youth. 2. In the second session, youths learn about bystander intervention and participate in a bystander intervention training program. 3. In the third session, youths review bystander intervention methods, brainstorm culturally specific scenarios, and practice methods to intervene in each scenario. 4. In the fourth session, youths review what they have learned and participate in role-playing and a debriefing session, which includes planning how to support one another to be engaged bystanders in the future. The bystander component, OPEN, helps create a healthy LGBTQ community by teaching youth how to identify and have healthier relationships, and how to intervene in unhealthy or violent situations (E. McCready, personal communication, February 14, 2013). OPEN teaches media literacy skills, critical-thinking skills, and peer advocacy skills to examine sexual violence within the LGBT community (Oasis, n.d.c). OPEN serves to empower youth to become the leaders and teachers in the community outside of OASIS (E. McCready, personal communication, February 14, 2013). It provides the tools with which they can take action, and the space to use their personal assets in order to prevent sexual assault in the LGBTQ community (E. McCready, personal communication, February 14, 2013). One way that OPEN is unique in its bystander approach is that the youth who go through the training are involved in creating their own scenarios that are personal to them and represent the issues that they face (E. McCready, personal communication, February 20, 2013). This allows the bystander training to be more relevant to them, and it aims to help youth better relate to the training. (picture of teens walking and laughing near a shopping center) Oasis conducts evaluation of all the programing for the youth including OPEN. Focus groups have been conducted, and qualitative feedback about the impact of the bystander intervention training has been collected. Youth have expressed how helpful it is to practice ways to intervene and create scenarios that are meaningful to them, and represent the issues they are faced with as LGBTQ youth. Nearly all youth participants in the OPEN training have expressed that the information was valuable to them, and many have stated they are more confident that they can be helpful to their peers by being an engaged bystander (E. McCready, personal communication, February 20, 2013). Pre- and post-surveys have been developed with the assistance of peer leaders and instructors, and in 2013 they will begin collecting pre- and post-surveys of all youth participants (E. McCready, personal communication, February 20, 2013). (picture of an older male coloring with a young female) ‘She Did WHAT?’ ‘He Said WHAT?’: Where the program is most helpful “If you think about the bystander approach … in terms of identifying a group of people who need help assessing the behavior that they are seeing as problematic and then need some skill-building about how to intervene in a safe and appropriate way, and they need a whole lot of practice on those new behaviors … step wise … this program fits perfectly for that” (M. Gopnik, personal communication, November 29, 2012). 5.‘She Did WHAT?’ ‘He Said WHAT?’ "She did WHAT?” “He said WHAT?” How to respond to the sexual behaviors of children is a program developed by the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC). The goal of the program is to educate early childhood educators on how to respond to sexual behaviors of young children up to age five in meaningful and developmentally appropriate ways that encourage healthy sexual development. The training draws on research on children’s sexual development and early childhood educators’ learning styles to increase their skills and abilities to address sexual behaviors and identify potential victimization (Douglass, n.d.a). It presents models for assessing and responding to these behaviors by distinguishing between developmentally expected sexual behaviors and potentially problematic sexual behaviors (BARCC, n.d.a) The program “is a training for early childhood educators who work at child care centers. The goal of the training is to have child care workers assess and respond to children’s sexual behaviors in a way that will promote healthy sexuality and prevent the development of perpetrative behaviors … and early identification of victimization” (M. Gopnik, personal communication, November 29, 2012). (picture of a male and a female child reaching for their backpacks on a shelf) Participants in the training are given scenarios that present situations in which children exhibit sexual behaviors and then role-play how to assess and address the behavior. This program utilizes the bystander approach because it teaches a group of early childhood educators how to support one another in being engaged bystanders and address behaviors directly with children. (M. Gopnik, personal communication, November 29, 2012). A survey of child care staff in Massachusetts found that 71% of them had observed a child engaging in sexual play/behaviors, but none of them saw it as problematic or they did not know what to do in the classroom. Only 31% reported being trained on how to respond to these behaviors (Douglass, n.d.b). This program provides training that early childhood educators need to respond to children’s sexual behaviors. It also provides participants the skills to promote healthy sexuality while responding proactively to problematic sexual behaviors (Douglass, n.d.a). The training emphasizes protective factors for sexual abuse and the importance of using open, direct and non-shaming communication skills with children, fostering empathy in children, and promoting accountability (Douglass, n.d.a). A new component of the program is guidance for child care agencies on policy development around preventing child sexual abuse and promoting healthy development. Areas for policy development include: expanded screening guidelines for staff and volunteers, written policies on words that will be used to describe the parts of children’s bodies, and communicating with parents about these issues. (BARCC, n.d.b). “Since 2009, the program has trained 474 staff from about 35 different centers. Additionally, 300 people from across the country have downloaded the curriculum” (M. Gopnik, personal communication, November 29, 2012). An internal evaluation of the “She did WHAT? He said WHAT?” curriculum found that the program is a promising child sexual abuse prevention program. The evaluation found there were statistically significant changes in participants’ knowledge and intended behavior immediately after training and at two-months post training. (Birkhead, Gopnik, & Yen-Ewert, n.d.). STAND & SERVE: Empowering Bystanders “We provide our young people an authentically safe space to learn about and practice how they can be the most effective change agents on the planet. We empower them to internalize the fact that they have the power to make their world a better place and the ability to respond [when safe] if they see or hear something that is not OK. That’s bystander responsibility” (J. Rauhouse, personal communication, December 6, 2012). 6.STAND & SERVE STAND & SERVE empowers students, families, and communities to design, implement, and evaluate solutions to make a positive impact on the world by preventing sexual violence. Currently, STAND & SERVE programs are in about 14 schools across Arizona. Programs also are in community centers and libraries. STAND & SERVE is a peer-facilitated, age-appropriate, and culturally relevant program for elementary through post-secondary students. Various activities promote respectful, healthy relationships and positive social norms that reject sexual violence. This approach places an emphasis on cultivating protective factors as well as promoting positive behaviors (Peer Solutions, 2010). The goal of the program is to empower students to take a stand and be a part of the solution, making a positive impact on the world. STAND & SERVE was developed by Peer Solutions in Phoenix, Arizona. It utilizes the 9 Principles of Effective Prevention and science-based theory to guide its work (Peer Solutions, 2010, p. 3). According to STAND & SERVE: Primary Prevention Evidence Based Research, “Peer Solutions uses evidence-based research to design, implement, and update STAND & SERVE” (Peer Solutions, 2010, p. 1). The following theories guide the development of their program (Peer Solutions, 2010): • Developmental assets/positive youth development • Community development • Social norms theory • Peer education, mentoring and modeling • Diffusion of innovation theory • Social change and marketing STAND & SERVE utilizes a positive youth development approach to sexual violence prevention. This approach emphasizes protective factors and the promotion of positive behaviors (Peer Solutions, 2010). STAND & SERVE also uses the ecological model as a way to maximize impact of the program by ensuring the societal, community, relationship, and individual levels are being addressed (Peer Solutions, 2010). When students join STAND & SERVE, they are first educated about sexual violence, family violence, and other forms of violence and abuse. They also are taught about respect, equality, and positive healthy relationships. They are then taught how to be a safe, responsible bystander. According to STAND & SERVE, students internalize the behaviors that lead to positive bystander responsibility, and they are empowered to take positive action in their community to prevent violence and abuse. “If you see or hear something that is not OK, when you feel safe or perceive it to be safe, you do or say something to make it OK” (J. Rauhouse, personal communication, December 6, 2012). STAND & SERVE’s approach to bystander responsibility is not only to focus on what to do when risky or harmful behaviors are witnessed, but also to cultivate safety, equality, and respect as norms to prevent the root causes of sexual violence, oppression, silence/denial, and normalized harm (J. Rauhouse, personal communication, December 3, 2012). STAND & SERVE focuses on getting to the root of the problem and ending the oppression that leads to the problematic behavior (J. Rauhouse, personal communication, December 3, 2012). Instead of focusing on individual skill-building about what a bystander should do if they see or hear a risky or problematic behavior, STAND & SERVE focuses on a positive vision for students to help build positive change in the world (Tabachnick, 2011). For example, because every situation is different, instead of using role-playing to address individual skill-building, STAND & SERVE, utilizes games and activities to teach children how to become better bystanders. To address the root causes of violence; oppression, silence/denial and normalized violence, the program fosters the norms of safety, equality, and respect by utilizing the “Guts 2 Be Good” approach, which includes five ways to prevent violence (J. Rauhouse, personal communication, December 3, 2012). (picture of teenagers at a lunch table laughing) “[STAND & SERVE] work[s] pre-womb through the lifespan. Every young person is a leader and potential parent. We are about positive permanent solutions. Prevention is the cure” (J. Rauhouse, personal communication, December 3, 2012). (picture of teenage students standing on steps in front of a building) STAND & SERVE has been evaluated to gauge its impact on participants using pre and post youth assessments; surveys of program participants, their parents, and school staff; campus climate surveys, and focus groups. (Mannes, Benson, Scales, Sesma, & Rauhouse, 2010). A 2007 evaluation of the effectiveness of the STAND & SERVE program using the Developmental Asset Profile (DAP), found that middle school and high school student’s DAP scores improved after eight months of participation in the program (Forrest, 2007). Middle school students showed significant increases in community involvement and a greater sense of bonding to positive peers and adults (Forrest, 2007). High school students with more than two years in the program showed significantly higher levels of personal values, such as honesty and responsibility, than newer members in the program (Forrest, 2007). This information suggests that STAND & SERVE is making a positive difference in the lives of the student participants by increasing their positive values and increasing the time spent on positive activities before, during, and after school (Mannes et al., 2010). Section Three: Being Successful in Bystander Intervention Work Four main themes emerged from the interviews the NSVRC conducted with the programs and strategies highlighted in this guide on successful creation of a bystander intervention program or strategy. Those themes include: 1. Identify the target audience. 2. Develop an understanding of the strengths and needs of the target audience. 3. Determine the best bystander intervention strategy or program for the target audience. 4. Ground the bystander intervention strategy or program in theory and evidence. It is important to keep in mind that a successful bystander prevention approach for a community is not time-limited. Instead, the approach will develop over time, with multiple sessions or repeated exposures that build upon the skills and knowledge of participants. Like other prevention and community awareness activities, it is necessary to keep the bystander intervention approach going and offer follow-up trainings and other opportunities for participants and local community members to become engaged. A bystander approach needs to be community-based and sustainable over time, as changing social norms is a long-term process. Infusing bystander prevention into prevention work can help ensure continued support for the program or strategy in the long-term because it will become a part of organizational culture that supports bystander intervention. Identify the target audience The first step in starting a bystander intervention program or strategy in your community is determining the target audience. “First and foremost, it is important to have a narrow focus in defining who the members of the target audience are, as it is unrealistic to expect that one bystander prevention strategy will resonate with all members in an entire geographic community” (Potter & Stapleton, 2011, p. 801). Many bystander programs or strategies focus on high school and college students and athletes. While these are key communities to reach, bystander approaches also have the potential to positively affect other populations and settings. While a program or strategy must be tailored to meet the specific needs of a particular target audience, preventionists can apply the information from strategies already developed to these specific communities. Other settings might include: • Athletic teams and other organized recreational activities • Places of worship • Community centers • Health care facilities • Homes • Parties or other social events • Prisons and other correctional facilities • Residential care facilities • Schools and child care programs • Workplaces • Public transportation: taxi cabs, subways, trains, etc. • Restaurants and bars • Culturally specific organizations • Youth-serving organizations Once the target audience has been identified, it is helpful to work with a group, organization, and/or community leaders who understand that sexual violence is a problem. It is more effective to work with a group or organization that already is invested in sexual violence prevention versus going into an organization that does not believe that sexual violence is a problem. It also can be beneficial to think about existing organizations and community partnerships already developed to determine if those partnerships could be expanded to work together on creating a bystander intervention program. For example, if a community-based sexual violence prevention program already has a long-term relationship with a health care facility, it could be beneficial to utilize that partnership and develop a strategy with that facility. Later on, as the strategy develops, it might be able to be expanded to include other target audiences, such as reaching out to places of worship. Many of the highlighted organizations started with one targeted group and eventually expanded to include more populations. For example, Green Dot started with college students but now is in the process of developing curriculum for middle school students and students in kindergarten through third grade. STAND & SERVE began working with high school students and now works with post-secondary, middle, and elementary school tudents and is working to expand efforts to pre-K. MVP started with engaging male college athletes, but eventually went on to include women in their trainings and have since adapted their program for the military. “Working through Sports in Society gave us unique access to some of the more hegemonic groups of men … you see these epicenters of dominant masculinity … and MVP, given it was embedded in a sports culture, was in a unique position to actually work with those groups” (J. O’Brien, personal communication, November 29, 2012). Develop an understanding of the strengths and needs of the target audience Understanding the strengths and needs of the target audience is different from determining the target audience. Once the target audience is determined, it is important to get to know them and bring in the input, views, and opinions from that community. Knowing the target audience means knowing the strengths and needs of that community. Knowing how to reach the target audience is important for a bystander intervention strategy to be effective. Just as with other prevention activities, bystander intervention will be most successful when it is tailored to meet the specific needs of each population or community. The key to success is to make sure the approach resonates with the intended audience. For example, youth of the Oasis Youth Center are actively involved in creating the bystander training program to help determine scenarios that are based on their unique experiences as LGBTQ youth. In this way, the program is tailored to their unique needs and realities. “I am a big proponent of listening to the people you serve and responding to their needs and the themes in your community. Don’t be afraid to keep changing as the needs change around you. I think that we stay relevant and engaging because we are always creating new scenarios based on what is happening in youths’ lives today” (E. McCready, personal communication, February, 14, 2013). (picture of a couple riding a bike on a sidewalk next to trees) Different aspects of a bystander approach could be need to be created to reach multiple audiences (Potter & Stapleton, 2011). Examples of how a program can reach different target audiences include: a social media campaign that reaches youth and young adults, branded products to reach community members at various community events, or an after-school program to reach middle school students, high school students, or college students. If resources allow, a local program might use different bystander intervention strategies to reach target populations, groups, or subgroups within a particular community. The Know Your Power® campaign is a perfect example of the importance of connecting with the target audience and asking for their input to help shape the campaign. Developers learned that details in the images, such as clothing and dialogue, mattered. For the campaign to be most effective, the audience needs to identify with the images, otherwise the images will be disregarded because the people in the photo do not look or sound relevant. Jane Stapleton said that when they were adapting the campaign for a university in California, one student pointed out that the dialogue on the images was not dialogue that people in California would use (personal communication, December 6, 2012). In order to adapt the images to look and sound more like students in California, it was necessary to change the dialogue and use terms familiar to that population, such as ‘“dude” (Jane Stapleton, personal communication, December 6, 2012). The audience notices the details of a campaign, so it is important to get audience feedback to know what is important to them. This way the campaign will resonate with them, and have the most impact. “First and foremost … for [a] bystander program, whatever type of strategy it may be, social marketing, in-person training, or social messaging … [it is important to] clearly identify who the target audience is, and then go to that target audience and figure out — is that [strategy] what the target audience needs?”(J. Stapleton, personal communication, December 6, 2012). When developing the bystander program or strategy, collaborate with those who are familiar with the target audience and understand their needs. Including community members who have experience working with the target audience in the development of the bystander program or strategy is another commonality among the bystander intervention programs and strategies highlighted in this guide. All of the highlighted programs and strategies had staff people or others who had knowledge about the population they were working with involved in the development of the program. For example, Jennifer Rauhouse was an educator before she started Peer Solutions, so she was familiar with the education system and understood the unique needs of middle and high school students. Another example is the lead person in the development of the “She did WHAT?” “He said WHAT?” program; she was an early childhood educator, so she knew what kinds of things early childhood educators were experiencing and understood the importance of supporting healthy sexuality in young children. These are a few examples of how the highlighted programs have utilized experts in the targeted community to help inform the development of bystander intervention programs. (picture of 2 older couples walking down stairs in front of a shopping building) “Choose your population ... who you are going to work with very carefully … really listen [to the group] and find an expert, someone who really understands the culture of the group. This is a real critical component to whatever bystander work you do” (M. Gopnik, personal communication, November 29, 2012). Determine the best program or strategy for the target audience Determining what type of bystander intervention program or strategy to use for the target audience is a complex and multifaceted process. In order to determine what would work best for the target audience, a good first step might be to conduct a community readiness assessment to determine the target audience’s readiness for a bystander intervention program. Once the audience is identified and their input is collected, the next step is to determine if it is best to use an existing strategy or program, adapt a strategy or program, or develop an entirely new strategy or program. There are many bystander intervention programs and strategies available, and it is important not to reinvent the wheel if something has already been developed that could meet the needs of the target audience. It also is important to research what others are doing and determine if an already developed and evaluated program or strategy already can meet the goals of the organization or if a new program or strategy would need to be adapted to meet the needs of the target audience. Finally, if there has not been anything developed that would meet the goals and the target audience’s needs, it could be necessary to create a specific bystander intervention program or strategy for the target audience. If the decision is made to develop a new program or strategy, it is helpful to keep in mind the lessons learned from other programs and be intentional about the content to ensure the program goals are met and are effective. Some things to think about: “What are the specific goals that I have, and does this program meet those specific goals? It’s not one-size-fits- all, and different communities are going to find different programs to be the best fit for them … if you look and find what you need is not out there … learn every single thing you possibly could from existing programs” (J. Sayre, personal communication, December 6, 2012). For more information on community readiness and assessment tools, see the resources from the College of Natural Sciences Tri-Ethnic Center Community Readiness at http://triethniccenter. colostate.edu/communityReadiness_home.htm or see Measuring Bullying Victimization, Perpetration, and Bystander Experiences: A Compendium of Assessment Tools at http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/measuring_bullying.html. Ground the strategy or program in theory and evidence “We have to link this work to science-based strategies that work and maximize long-term impact” (J. Rauhouse, personal communication, December 4, 2012). A fourth theme identified in bystander programs is the importance of using established theory and research. The programs highlighted in this guide are noteworthy in part because they all are grounded in a theoretical foundation and have undergone some type of research or evaluation. There are four levels used to think about the theory and evidence for bystander programs: theories about social behavior, research on helping and intervening, research on bystander intervention for sexual violence prevention, and ongoing evaluation. First, bystander intervention programs are based on established theories of social behavior. They are consistent with theories that speak to how we can change people’s behavior: • The Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) says that in order to change behaviors, you need to increase the belief that the behavior is negative and others disapprove of it. • The Theory of Planned Behavior (Ajzen, 1991) says that our social and physical environments affect how we intend to behave. Even if someone is motivated to behave in a particular way (such as by intervening), they will not do so unless the environment makes it seem possible to carry out that behavior. • The Health Belief Model (Becker, 1974) says that people will take preventive action if they think they are susceptible to the negative condition (in this case, to being assaulted) and that people must feel confident in their ability to take action. • The Community Readiness for Prevention Model (Edwards, Jumper-Thurman, Plested, Oetting, & Swanson, 2000) additionally considers community-level receptivity to prevention messages. These theories and others are synthesized and embodied in theoretically based bystander programs. The educational component of such programs demonstrates the negative impacts that sexual violence has not only on survivors, but also on bystanders and the community as a whole. This component also increases people’s awareness of how they and people they care about are vulnerable to sexual violence. The pro-social expectations for intervening send the message that ignoring a situation is not accepted in the community and that failure to act will be viewed negatively. Additionally, the social support that might be created during the program can make participants feel more supported in carrying out interventions. When skill-building practice is incorporated into the program, participants’ confidence is strengthened and they are more likely to use the skills in real life. Finally, bystander programs can engage broad sectors of the community as part of the prevention solution. This applies not only to who participates in the program, but also to mobilizing diverse community leaders to promote bystander interventions in their own roles. Second, bystander programs also take into account findings from research on helping behaviors. Social science research conducted since the 1960s has found that a number of factors influence helping behaviors. Drawing not from theory but from actual data on human behavior, the research has found: • Large groups of anonymous or loosely connected people inhibit helping due to the belief that someone else will step in to help (Myers, 1999). In contrast, groups that are more cohesive, and where some type of consensus has been formed, are more likely to intervene when someone needs help (Harada, 1985). • Having role models who help and witnessing others provide help can lead an individual to be more likely to intervene (Batson, 1998). • Interventions are less likely when individuals see the situation as ambiguous (Harada, 1985). But they are more likely when individuals have had prior training or a strong sense of their own abilities to intervene (Huston, Ruggiero, Conne, & Geis, 1981). • The decision-making process for bystanders includes thinking about potential costs of intervening or not intervening (Fritzsche, Finkelstein, & Penner, 2000). • Even the mere presence of bystanders, whether or not they actively intervene, can deter criminal acts (Shotland & Goodstein, 1984). Again, the bystander programs and strategies highlighted in this guide have taken into account these findings and others from behavioral research. Taking the time to form supportive environments and group cohesion, even in relatively short programs, can foster a greater sense of community connection, which can lead to more interventions. Engaging community leaders in the programs in a variety of ways creates more role models, as does recognizing peer leadership. Reducing victim blaming erases much of the ambiguity that might otherwise undermine the intent tointervene. Providing a framework for decision making helps bystanders evaluate the costs in a way that shifts the balance toward intervening, and providing direct and indirect intervention options offers multiple ways of intervening. (picture of a crowd of people taken from above with a man looking up) However, when considering bystander programs, it is not necessary to rely solely on extrapolating from broad theories and related research. The third body of literature can be drawn from is research that directly documents the positive impacts of bystander intervention programs. As described in the summaries of bystander programs and strategies in the previous section of this guide, a number of significant outcomes have been documented, including: • Less acceptance of rape myths and dating violence • Fewer sexist attitudes • Increased awareness of the problem of sexual violence • Increased likelihood of identifying harmful behaviors as wrong • Increased knowledge of how to safely intervene • Increased sense of ability to intervene • Increased willingness to get involved • Increased likelihood of intervening • Increased frequency of actual interventions Evidence is available that supports that a bystander intervention approach can significantly change knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, and that it supports increased preventive interventions in the community. This evidence can be used to demonstrate to communities and potential funders that adopting a bystander approach is a potentially effective strategy. Borrowing from others’ research can lend credibility when choosing a bystander approach. However, it does not establish that a bystander program or strategy is equally effective. Therefore, the fourth and final evidence that is needed is ongoing evaluation of a program’s own work. Evaluation can serve a number of important purposes. It can: • Help program staff make informed decisions about continuing or modifying a program • Garner support for the program through funding and increased community involvement • Help defend a program against outside criticism • Provide insight into how or why a program is or isn’t working • Support sustainability of the program • Be a mechanism for accountability Community-based programs might want to connect with local universities and evaluators in the beginning of developing a bystander program. By making these connections early on in the development, they can ensure the integration of evaluation into the program from the beginning to ensure the goals are being met. For more information on evaluation of sexual violence prevention programs, see NSVRC’s interactive online course, Evaluating Sexual Violence Prevention Programs: Steps & Strategies for Preventionists http://nsvrc.org/elearning/20026, or the Technical Assistance Guide and Resource Kit for Primary Prevention and Evaluation at http://nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/Projects_RPE_PCAR_TA_ Guide_for_Evaluation_2009.pdf Section Four: Capacity Building and Sustainability (picture of people walking down a busy sidwalk in the city) Using a bystander approach to sexual violence prevention takes time. Just like other prevention activities, the bystander approach should be integrated into a movement to end sexual violence. A recent assessment of the primary prevention training and technical assistance needs of state and territory coalitions, Rape Prevention Education (RPE) coordinators, and local rape crisis programs found that 64% of local programs surveyed were doing bystander work, 21% were not currently doing bystander work but were interested, and 14% were planning to do bystander work (Townsend, 2010). The report also showed that bystander empowerment was one of the top four major activities in which local programs were engaged (Townsend, 2010). These survey findings show a commitment among many community-based sexual violence prevention programs to do bystander work. This is especially evident in the fact that 100% of local programs were interested in, were planning, or were already doing bystander work (Townsend, 2010). This is important because community-based sexual violence prevention programs are key to bystander work. These programs are able to work within individual communities, where these changes need to take hold. Local programs are best equipped to create or modify specific programs to meet the cultural needs of their community. In order to sustain a bystander program or strategy within an agency, it is important that knowledge and understanding of the bystander approach and its importance to prevention is infused throughout the organization. It is critical that every layer of the agency — including program participants, staff, management, and board members — is invested in and committed to the bystander approach . When prevention is integrated into an agency’s vision and culture, activities such as bystander intervention strategies can be sustained and nurtured (Zadnik, Grove, & Townsend, 2012). In order to foster the commitment to bystander intervention in an agency, it is necessary to first establish prevention as a key foundational aspect of the organization. (picture of business woman standing in a meeting room with 2 coworkers in background) As with any prevention work, it is important that everyone within the program understands bystander intervention as a key prevention component to other prevention work the organization does. In the Prevention assessment — Year 2 report: Innovations in prevention, 100% of innovative programs included prevention in their vision or mission statements, and the organizations stated that prevention was of equal importance to the direct-service work they did (Townsend, 2012). The 12 innovative programs that were highlighted in this report were determined by having some of the following characteristics (Townsend, 2012, p. 9): • Theoretically based • Multiple strategies • Varied methods • High intensity • Culturally/contextually specific • Mobilizes community • Addresses intersectionality of oppressions • Replicable • Feasible • Outside school setting • Systematically assessed (picuture af hands in a circle) Cross-training staff All staff at Oasis Youth Center are cross-trained in prevention of sexual violence “… so that everyone has an intermediate level of training around sexual violence, identifying root causes, and the impact [sexual violence has on the] community … it has become everyone’s responsibility — staff, volunteers, and youth at Oasis — to play a role in sexual violence prevention” (E. McCready, personal communication, February 14, 2013). To gain staff and board buy-in for bystander programs, the agency must infuse bystander intervention work with existing prevention activities. If prevention work is tied to the vision or mission of an agency, then supporting and engaging in bystander work as a key component will flow naturally. To be most effective, the activities can be incorporated in a multilayered way within the organization and change the work culture to support bystander intervention and prevention strategies to prevent sexual violence. It also is important for supervisors and management to be leaders in modeling engaged bystander behaviors. Organizational policies in terms of hiring, staff orientation, and training also are important components that can support bystander work within an organization. Having bystander prevention infused in multiple ways within an organization will promote the culture change and sustainability of bystander programs. Another important component for building organizational capacity is to engage all staff in bystander work. All staff, management, volunteers, and board members have the opportunity to serve as role models and mentors to each other in demonstrating active bystander behaviors. It is important to train all staff, volunteers, board members, SART teams, and other allied professionals on bystander intervention so that they are able to identify situations and actions in their lives apart from work and recognize that they also are engaged bystanders. This is work that agency staff already practices on a daily basis in the course of their jobs; however, it is important for staff be able to connect that when they interrupt negative behavior, they are being engaged bystanders. Other ways organizations can promote engaged bystander behaviors externally are through prevention work within schools, the community, media advocacy, public policy work, and having a social networking presence. This can range from piloting a bystander intervention and prevention program within a community to speaking about bystander intervention at schools and other community centers. When speaking with the media, highlight bystander stories or submit press releases on a new bystander program in the community. Meet with policy makers and share the success of a bystander program to support the sustainability of the program. Organizations can increase their external presence surrounding bystander intervention by creating a social networking strategy and dedicating time to sharing engaged bystander stories within the community. Practical examples of engaged bystander behaviors within an organization include: New staff • Ask candidates during the hiring practice what being an engaged bystander means to them and for examples of how they have been an engaged bystander. • During new staff orientation, provide training on bystander intervention and e xplain the agency’s commitment to bystander intervention. All staff • Provide bystander intervention training to all staff. • Time can be made at a staff meeting or during check-ins with supervisors to share engaged bystander stories. This time allows for others to be supportive and maybe share advice or other options if staff encountered a difficult situation. • Highlight engaged bystander stories from the community on social networking sites, and ask for followers to share their own engaged bystander story. Advocates/preventionists • Make use of teachable moments when working with survivors, medical professionals, law enforcement, policy makers or other people in the community. • Engage in conversations that support a violence-free culture by reinforcing healthy social norms. • Tweet, use Facebook or other social media platforms to share engaged bystander stories, examples, or bystander tips. • Advocate for the importance of bystander intervention in external workgroups, committee participation, and other partnerships. Agency directors, supervisors, or board members • Act as a role model to agency staff and volunteers by modeling engaged bystander behaviors. • Write letters to editors to confront harmful messaging in the media by explaining why they are harmful and providing examples of more positive messages. • Use regular newsletters or other publications to highlight a successful bystander story from agency staff, volunteers, board members, or the local community. • When speaking to the media, highlight bystander stories and how ordinary people are making the community a safer and better place. • Send information or meet with policy makers to discuss the effectiveness of bystander prevention. Volunteers • At volunteer appreciation events spotlight an exceptional volunteer who demonstrated exceptionally good engaged bystander behavior by recognizing them publicly. It is important for all staff within the agency to have the language that they need to be able to talk about the significance of bystander intervention in preventing sexual violence. Organizations might want to consider developing and supplying staff with talking points on the factors that influence bystander behavior, engaged bystander tips, and the effectiveness of bystander intervention programs. This helps to create a ripple effect, and brings in more potential bystanders in the community. This is especially important if a new program has piloted within the community, because agency members are able to speak to the key components to the public. For more information on building organizational capacity to sustain prevention programs, see Strategies for Integrating Prevention into Organizational Operations (Zadnik et al., 2012). (picture kids holding hands and running through a field) Section Five: Conclusion Bystander intervention is an effective approach to preventing sexual violence. Focusing on social-norms change and modeling good behaviors that support a culture free of sexual violence, community-based sexual violence prevention programs can foster a healthier community that views sexual violence in any form as unacceptable. Everyone has a role to play in bystander intervention. Through organizational capacity building and partnerships, local sexual violence prevention and advocacy programs can become important leaders in developing and implementing bystander intervention. Decades-long history of working on interventions and sexual violence prevention makes community-based sexual violence prevention programs well-suited to lead bystander approaches that bring us closer to a society in which sexual violence is not tolerated and safety, equality and respect are the supported social norms. For more information, contact the National Sexual Violence Resource Center at 877-739-3895, or visit http://www.nsvrc.org/ projects/engaging-bystanders-sexual-violence-prevention. Section Six: Publication Information About the Author — Jennifer Benner, MPP Jennifer Benner is the resource development specialist at the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), where she is responsible for developing resources and materials on a range of sexual violence topics. Prior to joining the NSVRC, she worked in the reproductive justice field while obtaining her master’s degree in public policy. Jennifer’s interests include public policy research, social science research, and advocating for social justice. Contributors The National Sexual Violence Resource Center wishes to thank the following organizations for agreeing to be interviewed and providing insight into their bystander programs: Green Dot etc., Prevention Innovations, Mentors in Violence Prevention, Oasis Youth Center, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, and STAND & SERVE. The NSVRC also would like to thank Stephanie Townsend for her contributions to the section “Ground the strategy or program in theory and evidence.” National Sexual Violence Resource Center Founded by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape in 2000, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC) identifies, develops and disseminates resources regarding all aspects of sexual violence prevention and intervention. NSVRC activities include training and technical assistance, referrals, consultation, systems advocacy, resource library, capacity-building, integrating research findings with community-based projects, coordinating Sexual Assault Awareness Month, cosponsoring national conferences and events, and creating Web-based and social networking resources. (picute of people holding hands on the beach at sunset) Section Seven: References Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211. doi:10.1016/0749-5978(91)90020-T Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Banyard, V. L., Moynihan, M. M., & Plante, E. G. (2007). Sexual violence prevention through bystander education: An experimental evaluation. Journal of Community Psychology, 35, 463-481. doi:10.1002/jcop.20159 Banyard, V. L., Plante, E. G., & Moynihan, M. M. (2005). 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Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC. The content of this publication may be reprinted with the following acknowledgement: This material was reprinted, with permission, from the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s publication titled Engaging Bystanders to Prevent Sexual Violence: A Guide for Preventionists. This guide is available by visiting www.nsvrc.org