How To Be An Active Bystander
How often have you seen people standing around an accident or fight not to intervene, but to film it? Instead of stepping in or calling for help, people stand around and use their phones to film others’ worst moments. This is being a passive bystander; someone who observes a bad situation but does nothing to improve it.
This is the reason why, when you do CPR training, you're taught to point at a specific person and give a command. "You call 911." "You get a blanket." People, in general, do not want to get involved and assume someone else is taking care of it. The case of Kitty Genovese’s murder is a very well-known example of the bystander effect. She was repeatedly stabbed in the stairwell of her apartment, and even though her neighbors heard what was happening no one called the police.
The good news is we can work against this inclination by becoming an active bystander. This means that when we see someone experiencing unfair or dangerous treatment, we say or do something.
Here are 3 easy steps to follow to begin becoming an active bystander:
Be Direct - Ask the person being targeted if they are okay or if they need help. Literally, look them in the eye and say, “Are you okay?”
Distract - If you’re not sure what to do, try to steer an uncomfortable conversation away from the topic, or get in the way of someone taking further steps to harm someone.
Delegate - If you’re not in a situation you can handle yourself, get someone else involved, or contact someone with authority to help you.
This will probably be uncomfortable at first. We aren’t used to behaving this way, and we worry about what will happen to us. It’s helpful to remember that if we want to be better allies and build better communities we have to start by speaking up against injustice when we see it. Also, not every intervention is difficult but can be a redirection or expression that certain actions or words are unacceptable.
This is a huge movement across college campuses. If you Google “active bystander” the first page is full of links to college websites, but this is something we should learn and practice now. We all know we need to be better allies to marginalized communities, and this is where we start.
Resources
University of New Hampshire - This is more geared toward preventing sexual assault, but the ways to intervene and be safe are excellent.
Active Bystander Strategies from MIT - Strategies you can use before and after conflict to help.
The Ohio State University - Free online slide deck and video training from The Ohio State University.
Training Active Bystanders - paid training for workplace or community.
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Becky Holder is a content contributor for JUGs and works in education. In her free time she looks for the next best cup of coffee and great food. Follow along @rebeccalizholder on Instagram.
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