Bystander's willingness to report theft, physical assault, and sexual assault: the impact of gender, anonymity, and relationship with the offender

To Intervene or Not to Intervene: An Experimental Methodology Measuring Actual Bystander Behaviour

Bystander intervention and sexual assault research typically rely on self-reported intent to intervene. However, predicted behaviour can be considerably different from actual behaviour. Hypothetical scenarios are often utilised to remove extenuating circumstances, limiting insight into actual behaviour where those circumstances impact intervention. This paper discusses the development and evaluation of an innovative methodology to measure actual bystander behaviour when witnessing signs of an impending sexual assault. With careful attention paid to ethical considerations and participant safety, 13 participants were directly deceived about the true aim of the research. Utilising observational data and a funnelling debrief, the findings demonstrated varied reactions to sexual assault cues, from not noticing and therefore not intervening, to noticing and (in)directly intervening. Participants' responses indicated they remained unaware of the deception until it was formally revealed, suggesting the methodology effectively realised the study's aims. The funnelling debrief mitigated the adverse effects of the deception, with some participants reporting more confidence and motivation to intervene in the future. Further development of this methodology could create more interactive bystander intervention programmes that teach people to identify signs of a sexual assault, develop skills to safely intervene, and raise awareness about sexual violence.

Intention to Act: Predicting Bystander Intervention in Violent Situations in South Korea

The purpose of this study is to explore the predictors of bystanders' intentions to intervene and types of intended intervention in domestic violence (DV) and sexual violence (SV) situations in South Korea. Using nationally representative data from the 2016 National Fact-Finding Survey on Gender Equality (N = 7,399) and logistic regression-based models, this study focused on two key predictors, bystander gender and attitudes about gender equality, while controlling for age, educational level, and employment status. Our findings indicated that males and females were equally likely to state intentions to intervene in both DV and SV situations. While both males and females were more likely to state that they would intervene indirectly rather than directly, females were even less likely to intervene directly than were males for both situations. Attitudes indicative of gender equality further increased the intention to intervene for DV and SV situations in multivariate models. Gender equality attitudes, however, decreased the intentions to intervene directly in DV but not SV situations. Limitations and implications are discussed.

To tell or not to tell about bullying-New insights from the study on the perceptions of criminal sanctioning, anticipation of school punishment, agency, and trust toward school staff

The primary aim of this study was to determine whether perceptions of criminal sanctioning and school punishment predict students' willingness to report different types of bullying (material, physical, sexual, verbal, relational, and cyberbullying). An online survey was conducted with secondary school students (n = 1092) as participants. Traditionally included predictors (trust toward school staff, cost of reporting bullying, gender, and school agency) were also incorporated into a multiple linear regression analysis. The perception of criminal sanctioning for a particular type of bullying was a significant predictor of the willingness to report a given type of bullying, whereas anticipation of school punishment was relevant only in the case of cyberbullying. Trust toward school staff and gender were also significant predictors of willingness to report any type of bullying. School agency helped predict the willingness to report any kind of bullying except cyberbullying. Surprisingly, the costs of reporting bullying were relevant only in the case of material bullying. These results have important implications for stakeholders and school administration in identifying unreported bullying, developing and implementing anti-bullying policies, and introducing programs aimed at improving students' legal awareness.

Why Do Bystanders Report Intimate Partner Violence? Insights into Real-Life Reasoning from Those Who Actually Intervened

As intimate partner violence (IPV) often remains unknown to police, bystanders can play a crucial role in prevention and further escalation of IPV. However, little is known about what brings them into action by reporting incidents of IPV to authorities. As such, we use statements of bystanders who filed reports about IPV incidents to an official domestic violence agency in the Netherlands (N = 78), to investigate the reasoning and motivations for reporting their suspicions. Results show that the reasons for bystanders to report IPV differ depending on the relational dynamics between partners. In situations perceived as intimate terrorism, involving a hierarchical abusive relationship between a man offender and a woman victim, bystanders primarily reported when previous helping initiatives proved inefficient, and they did so to prevent further harm, often particularly in relation to the woman victim. In situations perceived as situational couple violence, involving a symmetrical abusive relationship, bystanders primarily reported when escalation appeared, and they did so to prevent further harm to involved children. We conclude that bystanders report IPV incidents when the need for help is clear, and their motivation for acting concerns the well-being of victims. Our findings add to the growing body of evidence about real-life bystander intervention in emergencies and highlight the need for understanding intervention as context-specific in order to design effective intervention initiatives.

Facilitators and Barriers of Bystander Intervention Intent in Image-Based Sexual Abuse Contexts: A Focus Group Study with a University Sample

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) encompasses the taking, sharing, and/or threatening to share nude or sexual images of others without their consent. The prevalence of IBSA is growing rapidly due to technological advancements, such as access to smartphones, that have made engagement in such activities easier. Bystanders offer an important means of intervention, but little is known about what facilitates or inhibits bystander action in these contexts. To address this gap in the literature, seven focus groups (n = 35) were conducted to explore the factors that facilitate and inhibit bystander action in the context of three different IBSA scenarios (taking, sharing, and making threats to share nude or sexual images without consent). Using thematic analysis, eight themes were identified, suggesting that the perceived likelihood of intervention increased with greater feelings of responsibility, empathy with the victim, reduced feelings of audience inhibition, greater feelings of safety, greater anger toward the IBSA behavior, closer relationships with the victim and perpetrator, the incident involving a female victim and male perpetrator, and perception of greater benefits of police involvement. These findings are considered alongside the physical sexual violence literature in highlighting the similarities and nuances across the different contexts. Implications for the development of policies and educational materials are discussed in relation to encouraging greater bystander intervention in IBSA contexts.

The Traveling Public as a Witness: Understanding Travelers' Intent to Report Signals of Child Sexual Exploitation Abroad

European governments encourage their citizens to report signals of child sexual exploitation while traveling abroad. To better understand what inhibits their reporting behavior, this study examines travelers' intent to report signals of sexual exploitation of children in the context of travel and tourism (SECTT). Building on scholarship on crime reporting behavior and (indirect) bystander intervention, travelers from five European countries were surveyed about barriers influencing their reporting decision. Results indicate that barriers related to the interpretation of the situation and cost-benefit reasoning inhibit intent to report. Awareness of the phenomenon and intervention decreases the perceived barriers and positively impact the intents to report. Previous experience with observing signals of SECTT is associated with a lower intent to report. Explanations for this unexpected finding and recommendations for practitioners are explored.

Bystander Intervention Behavior as Function of Victimization History, Opportunity, and Situational Context

Preliminary research has demonstrated the utility of bystander interventions in reducing sexual assault, and initial research has begun extending this type of intervention to intimate partner violence more broadly. However, the extant research is limited by methodological issues that fail to examine opportunity for intervention relative to intervention behaviors as well as a failure to examine intervention rates across differing risk situations. Further, there are many unexplored factors that may impact bystander intervention behavior, notably previous experiences with intimate partner violence and sexual assault. Thus, the current study examined bystander opportunities and intervention across situations of varying risk to the bystander, as well as the relationship of opportunity/intervention relative to victimization history. Given the rates of sexual assault and IPV on college and university campuses, the research examined the number of times college students (N = 393) encountered a range of situations in which bystander intervention may be indicated, and their intervention behavior across varying risk levels to the bystander. Results demonstrated that individuals with a history of psychological victimization were more likely to intervene across all situation types, but sexual and physical victimization provided mixed support for hypotheses. No differences in witnessing or intervening were found as a function of gender. These results replicate previous findings, and further provide evidence for a more nuanced approach to examine bystander behavior intervention. Implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Correlates of Bystander Intentions and Behavior among Community College Students in Situations of Sexual Violence

Sexual violence (SV) is a public health problem on college campuses. Research suggests that bystanders can effectively prevent and respond in situations of SV. There is no research to date concerning correlates of bystander behavior (e.g., gender, perceptions of SV) on community college campuses. However, there are notable differences between students enrolled in two- and four-year colleges. We conducted two exploratory studies across seven community colleges in one northeastern state to examine correlates of bystander intentions and behavior. In Studies 1 and 2, the majority of respondents identified as women, heterosexual, and White. We administered online surveys that inquired about demographics, peer attitudes, knowledge of sexual consent, history of victimization, and intent to help (Study 1) or self-reported bystander behavior (Study 2). The first study (n = 1,067) demonstrated that gender (i.e., identifying as woman), less accepting peer attitudes toward SV, and greater knowledge of sexual consent and awareness of campus SV were significantly associated with bystander intentions. The second study (n = 1,506) indicated that age (i.e., younger than 25 years old), greater knowledge of sexual consent, and victimization history were associated with bystander behavior. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Bystander Intervention Programming with Faculty: Recommendations for Institutions of Higher Education

While bystander intervention programs have been implemented to help prevent sexual violence on campus, little is known about the impact of these programs on faculty members. We examined faculty perspectives and motivations regarding participation in a faculty-focused bystander intervention program. We facilitated three faculty focus groups (N = 10) in 2017 at a southwestern university in the U.S. Faculty were recruited through their voluntary participation in a faculty bystander intervention program. We found that faculty gained a variety of new skills from their participation in this program including new vocabulary to facilitate sensitive conversations, increased awareness regarding best practices for intervention, and practical tools to apply when intervening. Study results also revealed strategies for implementing faculty-focused bystander intervention programs that will increase the likelihood that they will affect changes in bystander behavior at all levels of the university and promote cultures of non-violence at institutions of higher education.

Gendered Responses to Gendered Harms: Sexual Violence and Bystander Intervention at Australian Music Festivals

Bystander intervention has shown promise in preventing sexual violence in certain social contexts. Despite emerging evidence of pervasive sexual violence at music festivals, no research has considered bystander intervention in this setting. Drawing on an online survey conducted with 371 Australian festival attendees, we explore the role of gender on bystander intervention at music festivals. Findings point to significant gender differences, with women more willing and likely to intervene in a broader range of scenarios. We argue that responses to sexual violence are a collective responsibility shared by both women and men, as well as festival organizers and industry bodies.

Self-Control, Opportunity, and College Students' Bystander Intervention in Sexually Coercive Situations

This study examines students' bystander intervention opportunities and behaviors using survey data from a convenience sample of 226 college students from a university in the United States. We approach this study with theoretical concepts from the criminological literature on positive peer influence, self-control theories, and social control theories. Bivariate correlations and logistic analysis reveal, contrary to our predictions, that social and self-control have only minor predictive power on the likelihood of witnessing and intervening in sexually coercive events. However, we find strong support for some demographic characteristics, peer relationships, and behavioral characteristics (such as binge drinking) as predictive of witnessing a sexually coercive event and intervening in an event. Our study adds to the literature on bystander intervention behavior and aims to inform bystander intervention programming efforts by identifying student populations that are more likely to have the opportunity to intervene in sexually coercive situations and sexual assaults.

Who Are You to Me? Relational Distance to Victims and Perpetrators Affects Advising to Report Rape

The victim's decision to report a crime is generally dependent on the advice received from a confidant. The effects of a confidant's relationship to victims and perpetrators on the advice given to report rape were investigated. Indian participants (N = 418) read one of the seven scenarios of acquaintance rape as a confidant; the scenarios depicted different relationships between the victim and perpetrator (family vs. friend vs. stranger). Confidants closer to victims were more likely to advise reporting, whereas confidants closer to the perpetrator were less likely to advise reporting. Rape myth acceptance and victim blaming negatively predicted reporting to agencies.

Action and Reaction: The Impact of Consequences of Intervening in Situations of Interpersonal Violence

Previous research has examined barriers to helping in situations involving interpersonal violence, though little has investigated the outcomes of interventions that actually do take place. The purpose of the present study was to explore how consequences that bystanders experienced in helping situations varied by characteristics of the incident, including the type of interpersonal violence (i.e., harassing comment, dating violence, unwanted sexual advances, and controlling behavior) and the bystander's relationship to the victim and perpetrator. We also examined whether these outcomes impacted the likelihood that bystanders would help again. Participants (n = 1,391) were recruited from a university psychology subject pool and Amazon Mechanical Turk during fall 2016. They completed online or in-person surveys consisting of quantitative measures. Descriptive statistics showed that bystanders experienced both positive (e.g., positive reactions from the victim) and negative consequences (e.g., negative reactions from others) after helping. Analyses of variance revealed that helping in instances of dating violence was associated with more negative consequences, while helping in situations of unwanted sexual advances was associated with more positive consequences. Regression analyses showed that bystanders were more likely to help again when they experienced more positive and less negative feelings about their actions. Analyses of variance demonstrated that when the victim was a close friend, bystanders reported more positive consequences and desire to help again. However, bystanders reported more negative reactions from the perpetrator when the perpetrator was a stranger. Implications for adapting intervention programming to promote the likelihood that bystanders will help in future situations are discussed.

Preventing Sexual Violence Through Bystander Intervention: Attitudes, Behaviors, Missed Opportunities, and Barriers to Intervention Among Australian University Students

The concept of bystander intervention is gaining popularity in universities as a mechanism to prevent sexual violence. Prior research has focused on correlates of bystanders' intentions to intervene and intervention behaviors in situations where there is a risk of sexual violence. The current study builds on this literature by exploring the nature of missed opportunities, including perceived barriers to intervention. In all, 380 Australian undergraduate university students completed an online survey. Measures included a rape myth acceptance scale, bystander intentions to intervene, actual intervention behaviors, missed opportunities for intervention, and perceived barriers for missed opportunities. Promisingly, students reported high levels of intentions to intervene in situations where there was a risk of sexual violence and reported relatively few missed opportunities to do so when these situations did occur. Intervention behaviors varied by important demographic characteristics such as gender, age, attitudes toward sexual violence, and the nature of the situation. Younger female students, with lower levels of rape myth acceptance, who had previously engaged in bystander intervention behaviors were more likely to report intentions to intervene in future risky situations, and female international students reported fewer missed opportunities for intervention. The most common barrier to intervention for identified missed opportunities was a failure to recognize situations as having a potential risk for sexual violence, and students were most likely to intervene in situations when the opportunity to help a friend in distress arose. This study provides some preliminary empirical evidence about bystander intervention against sexual violence among Australian university students, and identifies unique contexts for intervention and what current barriers to intervention may be.

Sexual Assault Disclosure: The Effect of Victim Race and Perpetrator Type on Empathy, Culpability, and Service Referral for Survivors in a Hypothetical Scenario

The aftermath of sexual assault warrants further attention surrounding the responses provided by those to whom survivors disclose, especially when perpetrator type or victim race may affect whether the bystander response is supportive or attributes culpability to the victim. Disclosure responses have significant consequences for survivors' posttrauma mental health and formal help-seeking behavior. The current study used a sample of 348 self-report, paper-and-pencil surveys administered during the fall 2015 semester to a purposive sample of undergraduate students with a mean age of 20.94 years old at a midsized, Southern public university. Survey design included a randomly assigned 2 × 2 hypothetical sexual assault disclosure vignette. The objective of the study was to assess the effect of perpetrator type (stranger vs. acquaintance) and victim race (White vs. Black) on empathic concern, culpability attributions, and resource referral. Between-subjects factorial ANOVA and multivariate ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models were estimated to identify the role of vignette manipulations, participant-sexual victimization history, and rape myth acceptance on empathy, culpability, and resource referral for the sexual assault survivor portrayed in the vignette. Multivariate analyses included main effects and moderation models. Findings revealed increased culpability and decreased resource referral for victims of acquaintance rape as compared with stranger rape, independent of victim race. Although no direct victim race effects emerged in the multivariate analyses, race moderated the effect of culpability on resource referral indicating culpability attributions decreased resource referral, but only when the victim was Black . Implications from the results presented here include a continued focus on bystander intervention strategies, empathy-building techniques, and educational programming targeting potential sexual assault disclosees and race stereotypes that disadvantage victims of color.

Animal Cruelty and Neglect: Prevalence and Community Actions in Victoria, Australia

Simple Summary

Preventing animal cruelty and neglect is the goal of animal protection. But it is hard to effectively address a problem without a good understanding of its prevalence and nature. While 55,000–60,000 reports of mistreatment are made to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) in Australia each year, we do not know how well these data reflect what is actually happening in the community. After all, these data are reliant on people reporting what they see and therefore, probably only represent a fraction of what is actually occurring. To better understand this problem, we conducted the first extensive community survey to find out what people had seen in their communities and what they did about it. We found that animal mistreatment was (1) common, with 25.7% of people surveyed witnessing mistreatment, (2) mostly neglect with perceived underweight animals being the most common issue and (3) underreported to authorities with only 9% of witnesses reporting to RSPCA Victoria. While sobering, these findings are the first step to developing and resourcing well-informed strategies to prevent the mistreatment of animals.

Abstract

While animal mistreatment is common worldwide, its true scale is largely unknown. Currently, organisations rely on community reporting (case data) and trends found therein to inform prevention activities. To investigate the prevalence, types, and responses to animal mistreatment in Victoria, we conducted a representative telephone survey (n = 1801) across six Local Government Areas (LGAs); three with high numbers of RSPCA reported cases and three demographically similar areas with low numbers of such cases. Overall, 25.7% of people surveyed had witnessed at least one incident of mistreatment in the last 12 months, with those relating to neglect or poor management predominating. No differences in prevalence were found between LGAs when socio-economic index and local government comparator group were controlled for. However, participants in regional cities recalled witnessing more separate incidents than those in metropolitan or interface areas. Actions taken after witnessing mistreatment were varied, yet many participants did nothing (27%) and only 9% reported to RSPCA Victoria. Attitudes to reporting were positive but did not predict reporting behaviour. Together, these results demonstrate that case data are not reliable indicators of the true prevalence of animal mistreatment; it is common and grossly underreported, highlighting the need for effective, evidence-based prevention programs.

"It's Better to Be Depressed Skinny than Happy Fat:" College Women's Memorable Body Messages and Their Impact on Body Image, Self-Esteem, and Rape Myth Acceptance

This study investigated the content of memorable body messages that college women recall receiving in their childhood, and the relationship of those messages to state body image satisfaction, self-esteem, rape myth acceptance, and likelihood to report rape or sexual assault. Memorable messages were mostly about body size, body type, body parts, haptic messages, body positivity, and development. Mothers were the most frequent source of memorable body messages during childhood. Although there was no difference in any of the dependent variables based on the content of the message, there was a relationship between perceived message valence with body image, self-esteem, and rape myth acceptance. Messages that participants interpreted as more positive and beneficial were associated with higher body image satisfaction, higher self-esteem, and increased rape myth acceptance.

Changing the norms that drive intimate partner violence: findings from a cluster randomised trial on what predisposes bystanders to take action in Kampala, Uganda

Introduction

Despite widespread calls to end violence against women, there remains limited evidence on how to prevent it. Community-level programmes seek to engage all levels of the community in changing norms that drive intimate partner violence (IPV). However, little is known about what predisposes ordinary people to become active in violence prevention.

Methods

Using data from the SASA! study, a cluster randomised trial of a community mobilisation intervention in Kampala, Uganda, we explore which community members are most likely to intervene when they witness IPV. A cross-sectional survey of community members (18–49 years) was conducted 4 years after intervention implementation began (2012). Among those who had seen IPV in their community (past year), multivariate logistic regression, disaggregated by sex and trial arm, explored the associations between ‘trying to help’ and demographics, IPV experience (women)/perpetration (men), childhood abuse experiences, IPV attitudes and SASA! exposure.

Results

Overall, SASA! community members were more likely to intervene than their control counterparts (57% vs 31%). In control communities, older age (women), increasing relationship duration (men), talking to neighbours (men) and believing it is okay for a woman to tell if she is experiencing IPV (men) were positively associated with trying to help. In SASA! communities associated factors were increasing relationship duration (women/men), employment (women), talking to neighbours (women), childhood abuse experiences (women), lifetime IPV (women/men), IPV-related attitudes (women/men) and greater SASA! exposure (women/men).

Conclusions

Differing results between intervention and control communities suggest contextual factors may modify the effects of personal characteristics/experiences on helping behaviours. Motivation to act brought about by personal experiences of IPV, for example, might only propel individuals into action if they are equipped with the skills, confidence and support of others to do so. Community mobilisation can help create environments and synergies supportive of action.

Trial registration number

NCT00790959.

Study protocol

Available at http://www.trialsjournal.com/content/13/1/96.

Beyond the Situational Model: Bystander Action Consequences to Intervening in Situations Involving Sexual Violence

Sexual violence is a widely reported problem in college communities. To date, research has largely focused on bystander intervention as one way to help prevent this problem. Although perceived consequences of bystander intervention, such as the weighting of costs and benefits, have been examined, little research has explored what happens after a bystander intervenes. The current study investigated what bystanders report as perceived outcomes and actual consequences of their bystander actions in response to risk for sexual assault. Of the 545 surveyed, 150 reported having taking bystander action in the past month and qualitatively described their bystander behavior and the responses of those parties involved. A range of behavioral responses and intervention methods were identified. The most frequent responses reported by participants were victims conveying positive and perpetrators conveying negative responses. Different types of helping were associated with bystanders reporting different types of responses to their actions. Future research should incorporate additional measures of consequences of bystander intervention. Implications for policy and bystander intervention programs are discussed, stressing the need for bystander intervention programs to address a range of bystander behaviors and explain the potential consequences and risks of intervening.

Does Who You Know Affect How You Act? The Impact of Relationships on Bystander Intervention in Interpersonal Violence Situations

This study utilized an experimental design to determine how bystanders would intervene in campus sexual assault (SA) or intimate partner violence (IPV) situations. Specifically, it examines whether the type of intervention (direct, indirect, or delegation) is associated with relational distance, the nature of the crime, or the sex of the bystander. A random sample of college students completed a web-based survey at a private university in the Midwest. Survey participants were randomly assigned two vignettes-an SA scenario ( n = 371) and an IPV scenario ( n = 350)-with one of three conditions: knew the victim, knew the perpetrator, or knew neither. Chi-square tests, binary logistic regressions, and predicted probabilities were conducted to test three hypotheses. Results indicate that relational distance affects how a bystander will intervene. In the SA vignette, students who knew the victim or perpetrator chose direct intervention. In the IPV vignette, students who knew the victim or perpetrator chose direct or indirect interventions. Students who knew neither the victim nor the perpetrator tended to choose to delegate the intervention to someone else for both crime types. Although there were differences by sex, the larger differences were between whether they knew someone or not. Still, men had the highest probability of directly intervening in the SA scenario, whereas women had the highest probability of indirectly intervening in the IPV scenario. The results of this study suggest that campus violence prevention programs should consider context-specific issues in their trainings such as relational distance and type of crime.

A situational crime prevention analysis of Anglican clergy's child protective practices

To date, a predominant focus within the field of 'clerical collar crime' has revolved around institutional-level church responses to child sexual abuse events, survivors and offenders. Comparatively, little attention has been directed towards the micro-level and in particular, examining clerical responses to child sexual abuse. This article presents empirical findings concerning the 'everyday' child protective practices of Anglican clergy in the Diocese of Tasmania, Australia. Research data was acquired through open-ended qualitative interviews conducted with a sample of 34 clergy in a broader study of clerical culture, habitus and life amidst the 'church abuse crisis'. The framework of Situational Crime Prevention is employed to evaluate the feasibility of clergy's child-safe practices and comment on how these practices could be further altered through professional development. Research findings demonstrate that clergy possess an active awareness of risk, and execute a series of protective measures to minimise both sexual interactions with children and allegations of impropriety.

Measuring Bystander Behavior in the Context of Sexual Violence Prevention: Lessons Learned and New Directions

Bystander intervention is receiving increased attention as a potential sexual violence prevention strategy, especially to address campus sexual assault. Rather than focusing on potential perpetrators or victims, the bystander approach engages all members of a community to take action. A growing body of evaluative work demonstrates that bystander intervention education programs yield increased positive attitudes and behaviors related to sexual violence and greater willingness to intervene in pro-social ways. Future program outcome studies, however, would benefit from more refined measures of bystander action as it is a key variable that prevention education programs attempt to influence. The purpose of the current article is to present key issues, identified by four different research teams, on the measurement of bystander behavior related to sexual violence in the context of college campuses. Comparisons among the methods are made to suggest both lessons learned and new directions for bystander behavior measurement using self-report surveys in program evaluation.

Preventing Interpersonal Violence on College Campuses: The Effect of One Act Training on Bystander Intervention

Sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, and intimate partner violence, herein collectively termed interpersonal violence (IV), are public health problems affecting 20% to 25% of female college students. Currently, One Act is one of the few IV prevention training programs at universities that teach students bystander skills to intervene in low- and high-risk IV situations. The objectives of this study were 1) to evaluate One Act's effects on date rape attitudes and behaviors, and bystanders' confidence, willingness to help, and behavior, and 2) to compare the effects on bystander skills between One Act and Helping Advocates for Violence Ending Now (HAVEN), an IV response training program with similar participants. Data were collected over 2 years, before and after One Act and HAVEN trainings. We measured outcomes with four scales: College Date Rape Attitudes and Behaviors, Bystander Confidence, Willingness to Help, and Bystander Behavior. The analysis compared within- and between-group mean differences in scale scores pre- and post-trainings using linear mixed models. One Act showed improvements for date rape attitudes and behaviors ( p < .001), bystander's confidence ( p < .001), and willingness to help ( p < .001). One Act participants' bystander confidence improved more ( p = .006), on average, than HAVEN's. The differences in the two trainings' effects on bystander willingness to help and behavior had similar patterns but were not statistically significant. We found a larger positive impact on bystander confidence among students who participated in the bystander prevention training compared with the response training. Further research is needed to improve the measures for bystander behavior and measure the bystander trainings' larger impact on the community.

The Impact of the Bystander's Relationship With the Victim and the Perpetrator on Intent to Help in Situations Involving Sexual Violence

A large body of research has explored the individual and situational factors that influence bystander intervention for sexual violence. However, little research has explored the how the bystander's relationship to the victim and the perpetrator impacts helping. To explore this gap in the literature, the present study used vignettes to experimentally manipulate the bystander's relationship to the victim, and the bystander's relationship to the perpetrator to examine how these factors impact intent to help in low (i.e., unwanted contact) and high (i.e., situation at high risk of rape) severity situations of sexual violence. The gender of the bystander was also examined by recruiting a sample of women and men. Results suggested that bystanders were more likely to intervene when the situation was more severe and when the bystander was female. Results were mixed regarding intent to help when the bystander knew the victim or the perpetrator. Moreover, these factors interacted in complicated ways such that, for example, women are equally likely to intend to help a victim whether they know the perpetrator or not while men are more likely to help a victim if the perpetrator is someone they do not know. The results of this study suggest that bystander intervention for situations involving sexual violence are complex and future research should further tease out the moderating effects. Prevention programs using a bystander framework may need some segments of training that are more gender specific and that directly address the relationship between the bystander and the victim and perpetrator.

Reporting Crime Victimizations to the Police and the Incidence of Future Victimizations: A Longitudinal Study

Background

Law enforcement depends on cooperation from the public and crime victims to protect citizens and maintain public safety; however, many crimes are not reported to police because of fear of repercussions or because the crime is considered trivial. It is unclear how police reporting affects the incidence of future victimization.

Objective

To evaluate the association between reporting victimization to police and incident future victimization.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective cohort study using National Crime Victimization Survey 2008–2012 data. Participants were 12+ years old household members who may or may not be victimized, were followed biannually for 3 years, and who completed at least one follow-up survey after their first reported victimization between 2008 and 2012. Crude and adjusted generalized linear mixed regression for survey data with Poisson link were used to compare rates of future victimization.

Results

Out of 18,657 eligible participants, 41% participants reported to their initial victimization to police and had a future victimization rate of 42.8/100 person-years (PY) (95% CI: 40.7, 44.8). The future victimization rate of those who did not report to the police (59%) was 55.0/100 PY (95% CI: 53.0, 57.0). The adjusted rate ratio comparing police reporting to not reporting was 0.78 (95%CI: 0.72, 0.84) for all future victimizations, 0.80 (95% CI: 0.72, 0.90) for interpersonal violence, 0.73 (95% CI: 0.68, 0.78) for thefts, and 0.95 (95% CI: 0.84, 1.07) for burglaries.

Conclusions

Reporting victimization to police is associated with fewer future victimization, underscoring the importance of police reporting in crime prevention. This association may be attributed to police action and victim services provisions resulting from reporting.