Bystander Intervention
A bystander—someone who sees or hears about a situation—can notice actions or circumstances early enough to prevent an incident from becoming an emergency. The individual may witness prejudicial remarks and/or behaviors; violence to others; or individuals negatively impacting their personal health or safety. Examples of behaviors that could be prevented or reported include sexual violence, hate/bias incidents, cyber bullying, hazing, high-risk drinking, gambling, depression or physical violence. Research shows that bystanders will intervene 80% of the time when alone and only 20% of the time when there are other witnesses. All bystanders need to assume personal responsibility for witnessing an incident and report the incident to the college. Bystanders who are unsure of who to contact—daytime or nighttime—should contact the Residential Life & Housing On-Call Senior Staff at 406.459.0540.