ten years of research and practice on engaging bystanders in the prevention of sexual assault sharyn...

Ten Years of Research and Practice on Engaging Bystanders in the Prevention of Sexual Assault

Sharyn J. Potter PhD, MPHAssociate Professor

Department of SociologyCo-Director, Prevention Innovations

University of New Hampshire

A Bystander Approach

© 2014 University of New Hampshire. All Rights Reserved. 2

Two Bystander Prevention Strategies:

The Bringing in the Bystander® In-Person Prevention Program


The Know Your Power® Bystander Social Marketing Campaign

Rape on US University Campuses*

• Public Health Issue• Economic Issue• Community Issue

* Over 25 years of incidence and prevalence studies beginning with research by Koss, Gidycz and Wisiewski published in 1987.

© 2014 University of New Hampshire. All Rights Reserved.

Recent U.S. Legislation to Address Sexual Violence on University and

College Campuses• 2011 Amendments to Title IX, Dear

Colleague Letter • Campus saVE Act• White House Task Force to Prevent

Students from Sexual Assault, Not Alone


Campus Responses


Programs from a “Box”


Not So Fast…


More Harm than Good?

• Are the programs evidenced based?• Do the programs reiterate the current rape

culture?• Do the programs draw from the research on

learning? • No magic bullets.


10 Years of Research on Bystander Intervention

What we know……•Engage target audience members•Social Self-Identification: audience need to see themselves, familiar contexts and speech•Need to engage all community members•Programs need to be evaluated


Specific Lessons - Engage the Target Audience


Specific Lessons Social Self-Identification


Focus Group ExerciseExample of an Individual Response


Specific Lessons - Language


WE DO NOT TALK LIKE THE PEOPLE IN THE IMAGE!•Replace the “nailed” with “smashed.”•Replace rape with “Do you know how many years you’ll get?” or “he could go to the big house.”• Replace Alex, Emma, Kyle and Angela to names like Kiesha, Jamal, Tyrone and Brittany.

Specific Lessons – Familiar Context


Three men gang raped a woman in 1987 in Stoke Hall, a residence hall at UNH.

Multiple bystanders witnessed this crime and did not intervene.

Specific Lessons Engage All Community Members

• Example from a pilot study at two Army Posts in Europe (USAREUR).

• We had the opportunity to adapt both our in-person program and our social marketing campaign.


Know Your Power Bystander Social Marketing CampaignUSAREUR Pilot Results

• 146 Soldiers on the post completed the survey following the removal of the images.

• 77% reported seeing image, 23% did not see images.

Saw Images(N = 112)

Did Not See Images (N=34)

88% male 71% male*66% lived on post 62% lived on post


USAREUR Pilot Study of the Know Your Power Bystander Social Marketing Campaign

ResultsSoldiers who saw campaign images are significantly less likely to report that reducing sexual assault and stalking is the responsibility of someone else (e.g. sexual assault response coordinator, SARC, police), (p < .05). (Potter & Stapleton, 2012)


Soldier’s Outcomes Five Months after Participating in the Bringing in the Bystander Training.

These results are significant (p < .001).


Program Evaluation 1. Formative evaluation during program

development (e.g., focus groups, surveys).

2. Pretest and posttest methodologies, 5 week, 6 month and 12 month follow-up surveys.

3. Engage our target audience members to determine incentives that will increase and retain study participation.


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Example of Campaign Administration and Evaluation

Does exposure to the Know Your Power Bystander Social Marketing Campaign change students’ attitudes regarding sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking?

Stage of Change Scale• Precontemplation• Contemplation• Action

Backlash?• Are we making things worse?Potter SJ. “Using a Multi-media Social Marketing Campaign to Increase Active Bystanders on

the College Campus.” Journal of American College Health 60, 2012, 282-295.

Campus Wide Evaluation: Research Questions

A Few Results….

• Decrease in the belief that preventing sexual violence is the responsibility of others between pretest and posttest times (Main effect for time, F 1, 333, p < .05, Between subject effect for gender, F 1, 331, p < .001)

• Increase in participants’ willingness to prevent sexual and relationship violence and stalking & social self-identification between pretest and posttest times (Main effect for time, F 1, 333, p < .05, Between subject effect for gender, F 1, 331, p < .001)

• Participants reported taking increase in actions to reduce sexual and relationship violence and stalking and campaign exposure between prestest and posttest times. (Main effect for time: F 1, 332, p < .001)

© 2014 University of New Hampshire. All Rights Reserved 25

Know Your Power Bystander Social Marketing Campaign

Evaluation Results from 5 Campus Studies

• Social marketing changes attitudes.

• Changes in attitudes and behavior between pretest and posttest times.

• Importance of social self-identification.

• Dose matters (intentional & time limited).

• Effects maintained 5 weeks following

end of exposure.

• No backlash effect.

Still More Questions???

1. Does the intervention reduce perpetration rates?

2. Does the intervention reduce rates of victimization?


Need Different Strategies

• One prevention dosage will not end perpetration and victimization.


Education Needs to Begin Before Students Enter College and University


In Conclusion…


Thank You. Please contact me with any questions…

[email protected] J. Potter PhD, MPH

Associate ProfessorDepartment of Sociology

Co-Director, Prevention InnovationsUniversity of New Hampshire

ten years of research and practice on engaging bystanders in the prevention of sexual assault sharyn...

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