Emerging Technologies as an Essential Tool for Bystander Intervention

Marianne Winters is a leader in the movement to end and address sexualized and domestic violence and is passionate about progressive movements that are visionary, inclusive, current, responsive and proactive. Some would say that she’s “all over the place”. She prefers to say that she thrives on variety and is energized by the multi-faceted, never ending, interconnected and always exciting work of social change. She is the Project Diva for Graphix for Change and consultant and trainer for Praxis for Change.

I see the term bystander intervention as a term for people doing the right thing in the moment and building better relationships in the process. The second level of the social ecological model of prevention focuses on building relationships that promote non-violence and that address the risk factors for perpetration. This context is a perfect framework for understanding how emerging technologies can be used as a tool for bystander intervention.

Most parents of teens will tell you that Facebook, texting, instant messaging and so many other social media tools are the mode of communications in their nearly 24/7 world. We often hear about the negative impact of these emerging technologies through bullying stories. These tools can also be used as opportunities for bystander interventions.

We think that there is an exciting match between the goals of the sexual violence movement and the opportunities created by the emerging internet technologies. We believe that our movement needs to jump into these new technologies to ensure that our voices are heard in this new and exciting environment.

Let me give you a concrete example.

I just googled the term sexual violence in the city where I live. Here’s the list of sites on page one.
• the local sexual assault service provider,
• a training event that happened last year,
• 3 defense attorneys giving advice to someone accused of sexual assault or domestic violence,
•some general business links to the local rape crisis center and some other law firms.
• a listing of local newspaper articles on sexual assaults,
• some links to law firms 90 miles from here and some national organizations.

Then if I scroll through the entries, I begin to find sites that give messages about sexual violence – this is where it starts to become a problem.
• a YouTube video of a sex scene that is really a simulated rape.
• an entry in a website on college stories where a survivor of date rape shared her story and then received a long list of comments, some supportive, others victim blaming and abusive.

Here’s the good thing about this list. If I were a victim of rape looking for help, I would have found the local hotline easily enough.

Here’s the challenge as I see it. Putting on the hat of an interested bystander, I did not find any information about what I could do to help end sexual violence. I easily found news and resources, yet I could not find any information about what I could do in my community. None of the important messages of the movement such as what role my school, sports team or my church could play in setting new social norms, increasing safety, support and comfort for victims or interventions for those at risk to abuse were anywhere in the top 50 listings.

Even more problematic for the sexual violence movement and the communities we serve, I didn’t see any simple information about what’s healthy and normal, what to expect if I report sexual abuse, or what to do when I someone I know discloses abuse to me. I can’t readily find out what will happen if I witness an abusive joke or have a friend who has attitudes that blame the victim. In order to support bystander intervention we need to find ways to teach people how to engage in their relationships in healthy and non-violent ways. We need to teach and give examples of the ways that stronger relationships help to build communities that promote prevention.

Next, The challenge and how we can meet it