New resources on engaging bystanders to prevent sexual violence

A new information packet on engaging bystanders to prevent sexual violence has been published by the US National Sexual Violence Resource Center. The information packet, Engaging Bystanders to Prevent Sexual Violence, provides sexual violence advocates, preventionists and community workers with current research, resources and examples of bystander intervention programmes. It includes:

• An overview of bystander intervention, including key features and successful programmes
• A bulletin, which provides community members with tips on how to intervene to prevent sexual violence
• A guide to creating and sustaining a bystander intervention programme
• A resource list including publications, websites, mobile apps and training tools
• An annotated bibliography featuring research articles, books and presentation materials
• A research brief. Each study reviewed includes an application section which provides advocates and preventionists information about how they can use the study in their work.

In New Zealand, bystander intervention resources include Who are you?, a free toolkit that uses group exercises and a short film to educate young people about the prevention of sexual violence and ethical sexual decision making.

Sexual violence primary prevention programmes in tauiwi and bicultural communities around the country are documented in Preventing Sexual Violence: A Stocktake of Tauiwi & Bicultural Primary Prevention Activities 2013, available from the TOAH-NNEST website.

Image: Bystander by bitsorf. Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC 2.0)