Bystander Willingness and Sexual Violence: Findings from a Statewide Sample

Background: More than 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives (Centers for Disease and Control, 2021). Bystander interventions have been shown to be an effective strategy for prevention (Mujal et al., 2021). Multiple studies have emphasized the need to understand factors that promote the likelihood of intervening to prevent sexual violence (Hoxmeier et al., 2020), yet few studies look at community samples. Moreover, there is scant knowledge on whether prior community involvement in efforts to end sexual assault are associated with bystander behavior. This research examines a statewide community sample to explore the following questions: 1) How willing are people to intervene to prevent sexual violence? 2) Do differences exist in willingness to intervene?

Methods: This study used cross-sectional data from a random-digit dial phone survey of 1,203 English- and Spanish-speaking adults in a large southern U.S. state that queried attitudes toward sexual assault. Demographic information and involvement in community efforts were also collected. The dependent variable was a six-item scale measuring participants’ willingness to challenge or express discomfort in a bystander situation (e.g. challenge a friend who made a sexist joke or confront a friend who plans to give someone alcohol to get sex.) Answer choices ranged from 0-5 (0=Not likely and 5=Extremely likely), with higher ratings indicating greater willingness to intervene. The Cronbach’s alpha was .81. Data were analyzed using ordered logistic regression. Independent variables were gender, age, race, education, marital status, and prior involvement in efforts to end sexual assault.

Results: The mean scores on the scale ranged from 0 to 5 (SD=3.8). Mean bystander intervention was 3.9 for women (SD=4.0), 3.5 for men (SD=3.5), 3.8 for married participants (SD=1.2), 3.8 for White (SD=1.1), 3.6 for Hispanics (SD=1.4), 3.9 for Black (SD=1.3), and 3.6 for other race/ethnicities (SD=3.6). Using ordered logistic regression, results indicated that the odds of reporting a greater likelihood to intervene were 102% higher for women than men; 115 % higher for those with at least some college education than those who had a high school education or less; and 60% higher for married participants than those who were not married. Race and ethnicity were not statistically significant. Participants with prior community involvement in efforts to end sexual assault had 48% higher odds of reporting a greater willingness to intervene than those who didn’t.

Conclusion & Implications: This study contributes to informing programming and policy on the prevention of sexual violence among the general population. Training and educational curricula that consider gender, educational attainment, marital status, and involvement in community efforts to end sexual assault may further advance efforts to successfully intervene in sexual assault.