Bystander Training A USC Well-being Collective Toolkit
September 2020
USC Well-being Collective The USC Well-being Collective harnesses the power of Collective Impact for a variety of distinct and often siloed academic departments, administrative units, recognized student organizations and local non-profits to come together and work with the whole student community towards our common agenda: strengthening a campus culture driven by student wellbeing.
This goal is supported by four interrelated strategic goals:
Equity and Inclusion – enhancing the culture of equity and inclusion Resilience and Thriving – creating a culture where individuals and communities thrive Alcohol and Other Substance Use – disrupting the culture of at-risk substance use Consent and Healthy Relationships — fostering a culture of consent and healthy relationships
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Introduction
While sexual violence affects millions of people across the country each year, young people remain at the highest risk of sexual assault. Colleges and universities face significant challenges in addressing and preventing sexual assault and misconduct on their campuses.
According to the the 2019 AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct, the overall rate of nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent since the student enrolled at the school was 13.0 percent, with the rates for women, TGQN and undergraduate students being significantly higher than for men and graduate/professional students. In addition, undergraduate TGQN and female students reported having the highest rates of other forms of sexual misconduct. Among undergraduate TGQN students, 65.1 percent reported experiencing harassing behavior since first enrolling at the school, 21.5 percent with partners reported intimate partner violence (IPV) and 15.2 percent stalking. Among undergraduate women 59.2, 14.1 and 10.0 percent experienced harassing behavior, IPV and stalking, respectively (Cantor D, et al 2019).
The promotion of healthy relationships and affirmative consent through modeling, prevention education modules, workshops, and relationship campaigns are consistent strategies utilized by institutions of higher education in order to prevent sexual assault and misconduct. Teaching students skills to intervene as prosocial bystanders has become a common element of sexual assault prevention efforts. According to EVERFI data (2015), nearly all students report they would take action in a situation of sexual assault, however only two thirds believe their peers would do the same. Bystander intervention training can be an effective strategy used to empower students, staff, and faculty with the skills to safely intervene and assist in the prevention of sexual assault and harassment on college campuses. In addition, bystander training teaches skills to be an effective ally and supporter to survivors after sexual assault has occurred, with participants learning positive skills to intervene before, during, or after a harmful situation.
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Bystander Training
Toolkit Description: Implementing Bystander Intervention Training
Strategic Goals: Equity + Inclusion Thrive + Mental Health At-Risk Substance Abuse
Consent + Healthy Relationships
Strategies: Building healthy public policy Creating supportive environments Strengthening community action
Developing personal skills Re-orienting all sectors towards prevention
A Toolkit For: Faculty Staff Student Parent/Guardian
Administrator
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Goal Effective bystander prevention and intervention strategies increase community members’ awareness and knowledge of the problem, teach how to identify the problem, and provide them the skills to intervene when they see sexual harassment and assault occurring, about to occur, or in the aftermath of an occurrence (Moynihan et al. 2015). Bystander intervention training increases a person’s awareness and capacity to safely and positively intervene during escalated social and interpersonal dynamics. The aim of this toolkit is to provide students, staff, and faculty with intervention strategies and techniques to prevent or intervene when there is a risk for sexual assault or misconduct.
Intended Outcomes Key Performance Indicators: Increase percentage of students who report upstanding behaviors Reduce percentage of students who experience sexual assault in the last 12 months
Evidence of Effectiveness Scientifically Supported - Strategies with this rating are most likely to make a difference. These strategies have been tested in many robust studies with consistently positive results.
Implementation Ideas For Faculty/Staff/Administrator Campus staff, faculty and administrators can complete bystander training to gain skills sets in recognizing at-risk factors and diffusing potentially harmful situations.
Online Training Modules: Linkedin Learning’s Bystander Training: From Bystander to Upstander Grovo’s Bystander Intervention Practice: Notice and Intervene, How to Be an Active Bystander, Recognize the Barriers to Becoming an Active Bystander CyberU’s The Effective Bystander: Micro-course
Administrators and campus policy writers can embed bystander training as a requirement for students, staff and faculty.
For Students Students leaders can encourage the review of online education modules Sexual Assault and Prevention Education for both undergraduate and graduate students:
Sexual Assault and Prevention Education for Undergraduates Sexual Assault and Prevention Education for Graduates
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Student leaders can participate in training and encourage student organization members to enroll in trainings
Student organizations can require members to complete trainings
Student leaders can review strategies for staying vigilant and encourage organization members to review bystander strategies
Bystander Intervention Strategies The three Ds of Intervention
Direct: A direct intervention is just as it states: a bystander confronts a potentially harmful situation directly. For example, someone may witness a situation developing with a friend and another person that looks like it may escalate. Directly stepping in to pull the friend out of the situation and walking away with them may be necessary. When safe, being direct is the most immediate way to intervene in a situation.
Distract: If it is not safe to address a situation directly, creating a distraction to diffuse or interrupt the situation may offer a deterrence. Examples of distraction include “accidentally� spilling a drink,
asking for directions, or asking to borrow a cell phone from
the person in the threatening situation. A brief interruption may be all that is needed to diffuse potential harm.
Delegate: There is strength in numbers. Enlist help from peers, friends, or passers-by to approach the situation together, and/or brainstorm ways to intervene. If possible, seek help from a person in authority, such as a staff member, bus driver, or bartender. Examples include directing someone to call for help, pulling in others for support, and working together as a team to help the person in danger.
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Implementation Resources Trojans Respect Consent, a program of USC Student Health, is a 90-minute workshop on affirmative consent. The workshop centers on practicing how to engage in conversations about sexual activity with other students, including how to define, ask for and negotiate consent.
Trojans Act Now! is a 90-minute workshop on bystander intervention, adapted from the University of New Hampshire’s Bringing in the Bystander, which uses a community of responsibility approach. It teaches bystanders how to safely intervene in situations where an incident may be occurring or where there may be risk.
Workshops equip learners with skills to intervene when they witness a situation that may lead to gender- and power-based harm including sexual harassment, stalking, dating violence, and sexual assault.
NASPA’s Culture of Respect, evidence-based bystander intervention programs: Bringing in the Bystander training Green Dot Strategy One Act The Women’s Program The Men’s Program
Sponsors NASPA’s
Culture of Respect
The JED Foundation
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References Cares, A. C., Banyard, V. L., Moynihan, M. M., Williams, L. M., Potter, S. J., & Stapleton, J. G. (2014). Changing attitudes about being a bystander to violence: Translating an in-person sexual violence prevention program to a new campus. Violence Against Women, 21(2), 165– 187.
Deitch-Stackhouse, J., Kenneavy, K., Thayer, R., Berkowitz, A., & Mascari, J. (2015). The influence of social norms on advancement through bystander stages for preventing interpersonal violence. Violence Against Women, 21(10), 1284–1307.
Moynihan. M. M., Banyard, V. L., Cares, A. C., Potter, S. J., Williams, L. M. & Stapleton, J. G. (2015). Encouraging responses in sexual and relationship violence prevention: What program effects remain one year later? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30, 110-132.
Orchowski, L. M., Edwards, K. M., Hollander, J. A., Banyard, V. L., Senn, C. Y., & Gidycz, C. A. (2018). Integrating sexual assault resistance, bystander, and men’s social norms strategies to prevent sexual violence on college campuses: A call to action. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse.
Shaw, J., & Janulis, P. (2016). Re-evaluating sexual violence prevention through bystander education. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31, 2729-2750
Cantor D, Fisher B, Chibnall B, et al. (2019). Report on the AAU campus climate survey on sexual assault and sexual misconduct. Rockland, MD: The Association of American Universities. Retrieved from https://www.aau.edu/sites/default/files/AAU-Files/KeyIssues/CampusSafety/Revised%20Aggregate%20report%20%20and%20appendices%20 1-7_(01-16-2020_FINAL).pdf
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Produced Examples
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USC Student Health
Office for Health Promotion Strategy Backbone for the USC Well-being Collective
The Office for Health Promotion Strategy, backbone for the USC Well-being Collective, is embedded in USC Student Health and serves as the administrative core to support campus partners in aligning their strategic objectives with student wellbeing. The Office for Health Promotion Strategy works with participating partners, the Steering Committee, and most importantly, students to activate change at USC.
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For additional questions, please contact: USC Student Health, O
ce for Health Promotion
Strategy, Backbone for USC Well-being Collective at wellbeingcollective@usc.edu
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uscwellbeingcollective.usc.edu