Ambiguity as a Barrier to Bystander Intervention: Future Directions and the Exploration of Predator Perceptions of Intervention Strategies

• In Event: Intervening Against Crime on Campus. How Bystanders and Opportunities Shape Responses

Abstract

In response to findings on the prevalence of sexual assault on campus, many colleges in the United States have adopted bystander intervention programs which seek to increase students' knowledge of sexual assault on campus and to teach students strategies for intervening in potentially risky. However, situational barriers to bystander intervention may impede the effectiveness of these prevention programs. The present study drew from intensive interviews of 30 undergraduates from a large university in the American Midwest to examine how students construct perpetrators in situations that hold the potential for sexual assault. Findings suggest that students' bystander behaviors are guided by their constructions of potential perpetrators as well as their concerns about how a potential predator might respond to an intervention. Future directions for this research—specifically the need to examine predator perceptions of interventions and how these may affect intervention effectiveness in preventing sexual assault—will be discussed.

Authors

• Leah Butler, University of Cincinnati

• Holly Ningard, University of Tennessee

• Brandie Pugh, University of Delaware

• Thomas Vander Ven, Ohio University