Bystander Reporting Behavior of Violent

Bystander Reporting Behavior of Violent Incidents: Reasons for Failing to Report, Student Self-Efficacy and Barriers to Reporting

Threats of Violence and Violence in U.S. Schools

The work of Fein et al. (2002) entitled: "Threat Assessment in Schools: A Guide to Managing Threatening Situations and to Creating Safe School Climates," a publication of the United States Secret Service and the United States Department of Education relates that since 1999 both of these organizations have been working in coordination in order to gain a better understanding and to "ultimately help prevent school shootings in America." (Fein, et al., 2002) Fein et al. states that most students in the U.S. "will complete their schooling without ever being touched by peer violence. Nevertheless, recent school attacks carried out by students have shaken the image of schools as reliably safe and secure environments in which the qualifications of teachers and the efficacy of the educational curricula are the most pressing concerns of educators and parents. Televised images of frightened and injured students fleeing school grounds have imprinted themselves on the American consciousness." (2002)

Same Gender Violence Statistics

The University of Wisconsin reports that "the prevalence of domestic violence among Gay and Lesbian couples is approximately 25 -- 33%" and that each year approximately "50,000 and 100,000 Lesbian women and as many as 500,000 Gay men are battered." (University of Wisconsin, 2009) Beighley (nd) reports that 86% of LGBT students report being verbally harassed and that 44% of LGBT students report being physically harassed. Finally, approximately one in four students report being physically assaulted in school over the past twelve months due to their sexual orientation or gender expression or identity. (GLSEN 2007 National School Climate Survey in: Beighley, )

Defining 'Tolerance'

However, incidents of violence that take place in today's schools are often not reported and this is particularly true of incidents of violence against gay and lesbian individuals attending high school. Daugherty and Stanhope (1998) state that the definition of tolerance as stated by the Random House Dictionary is as follows:

"…a fair and objective attitude toward those whose opinions, practices, race, religion, nationality, or the like differ form one's own; freedom from bigotry."

Sara Bullard (1996) of the Southern Poverty Law Center states that tolerance is:

"…a way of thinking, feeling, and acting that gives us peace in our individuality, respect for those unlike us, the wisdom to discern humane values and the courage to act upon them." (in Daugherty and Stanhope, 1998)

Preparation of Teachers is Ineffective at Best

The work of Wynne (2008) entitled: "An Analysis of Student Teacher Preparation in Relation to Homophobia" states that it is revealed in the literature that teacher education programs "…are not adequately reducing bias and prejudice in relation to sexual orientation in preservice teachers. Many factors influence the lack of adequate preparation. Preservice teachers hold homophobic attitudes, exhibit unwillingness to address gay and lesbian issues, and show a general lack of knowledge about homosexuality. Preservice teachers indicate that their preservice programs failed to address issues of sexual orientation, exhibited more bias in relation to sexual orientation than to race and gender issues, and failed to prepare them to meet the needs of lesbian and gay students. Preservice teachers also show higher bias in relation to sexual orientation than race, gender, social class, ability and language/immigration."

Reasons Cited for Failure of Bystanders to Report Violence at School

The work of Carr (2005) entitled: 'Campus Violence White Paper" states that there are "approximately 16 million students enrolled in 4,200 colleges and universities According to the Violent Victimization of College Students report, between 1995 and 2002, college students ages 18-24 were victims of approximately 479,000 crimes of violence annually…" (Carr, 2004) These crimes included: (1) rape; (2) sexual assault; (3) robbery; (4) aggravated assault; and (5) simple assault. (Carr, 2004) However, according to Carr (2005) "Campus crime statistics have been found to be flawed due to a significant underreporting among victims." In a study conducted among "3,400 students randomly selected from 12 colleges and universities stratified by student enrollment and location, Sloan et al. found that only 25% of campus crimes were reported to any authority across all offenses." (Carr, 2004) in fact Carr (2005) states the following statistics on reporting of campus crimes:

(1) Only 22% of rapes and 18% of sexual assaults were reported,

(2) 0% of robberies,

(3) 50% of aggravated assaults, and 2

(4) 5% of burglaries. (Carr, 2004)

Primary reasons stated by students as to why they did not report these crimes are those reasons as follows:

(1) Crimes were too minor (39%),

(2) Private matter (16%), and (3) Not clear it was a crime (5%). (Carr, 2004)

Carr (2005) states that when students did report crimes that 83% of the crimes reported were "reported to the campus police or security. Interviews by telephone with the 3,400 students revealed that "personal crimes made up 45% of victimizations, with 8% acts of violence and 37% theft. Living quarter's crimes consisted of burglary, larceny, and vandalism, and constituted up to 30% of all crimes experienced. Threats and harassments made up 25% of the crimes." (Carr, 2005) it is reported that students "…may be too ashamed to report interpersonal violence or to get help for his/her victimization. Students who are victimized can feel overwhelmed and need a great deal of support. If they do not sense that this support is there, they will be less likely to report and seek help." (Carr, 2005)

According to Carr, violence on campus affects students, staff and faculty and "victims may need to leave school either by dropping out or taking a leave of absence. They may move back home to recover, regroup, or transfer to a school closer to home. When victims remain in school, they may have problems concentrating, studying, and attending classes. They may fear running into the person(s) who perpetrated the violent act so they may avoid academic and social activities. College life may become so stressful that they develop clinical symptoms of trauma or anxiety that affect their mental and physical health. Staff, faculty, and paraprofessional student staff may be harassed and intimidated by violence-prone students in or outside of the classroom, impinging on academic freedom, policy enforcement, and their own safety and welfare. Angry students may disrupt the classroom learning environment and threaten faculty if they do not like their grades, do not get accepted into a program, or get dismissed from a program." (Carr, 2005)

Carr (2005) states that in relation to intimate partner violence (IPV) and specific to the lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGBT) population that the National Center for Victims of Crime (2005) reports 5, 046 reported incidents of intimate partner violence (IPV) in 2001 which was an increase of approximately 25% increase over the same types of cases reported the previous year.

Carr (2005) relate that 'bias crime' was described by the Federal Hate Crime Statistics Act (1990) as "crime motivated, in whole or in part by hatred against a victim based on his or her race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin or disability" the Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act (1995) includes gender in its definition of bias crime. In addition, the Violence Against Women Act (1994) addresses crimes motivated by gender. "Gendered aggression" is aggression "in which the meanings, motives, and consequences are different for women and men" (Carr, 2005)

Carr (2005) reports that sexual violence and harassment is defined as "…unwelcome sexual conduct which is related to any condition of employment or evaluation of student performance. It includes unwarranted sex-related comments, sexually explicit comments or graphics, unwelcome touching, etc. This harassment can take the form of making derogatory jokes based on sex, speaking crude or offensive language, spreading rumors about a person's sexuality, placing a compromising photo on the web, or ogling. These behaviors cause the recipient discomfort or humiliation, and continue after the recipient has made clear that they want them to stop." Carr additionally relates that first-year students are those most vulnerable to being victimized because "they have new freedoms, lack of parental control for the first time, may be experienced in self-protection and boundaries, and are thrust into residence halls where living density is high and social experimentation is common." (Carr, 2005) Additionally, more students who enter college have "severe mental health and conduct disorders with violent components." (Carr, 2004) Often these individuals treatment regimen is interrupted and even ceased as they enter college.

Epstein 2002 makes the following recommendations for colleges in addressing these problems: (1) Legal council should undertake a legal review of the campus violence prevention plan; (2) Institute a policy to identify types of prohibited speech as disruptive to the educational environment; (3) Establish a campus ban on firearms; (4) Expand campus mental health services; (5) Encourage students/staff to report verbal and written threats, weapons, and bizarre behaviors; and (6) Have protocols in place for conveying information regarding dangerous situations and threats. (in Carr, 2005)

Further recommended by Epstein (2002) is the development of a protocol for addressing reporting of bystanders and as well there should be a strong emphasis on "increasing staff and students awareness of policies and procedures so that untrained personnel minimize risk." (in Carr, 2005) Violation of privacy issues is a concern and Epstein (2002) makes the suggestion that incoming students be asked to sign a release enabling administrators to initiate actions should their behavior cause concern or seem erratic.

The work of Banyard (2008) entitled: "Measurement and correlates of prosocial bystander behavior: The case of interpersonal violence" reports a study that examined the effects of gender and specific personality characteristics on bystander attitudes and behaviors. Findings of the study are stated to have been "…consistent with previous findings in that prosocial behaviors were higher among individuals with greater knowledge of sexual violence. Those who perceived higher effectiveness as a bystander were more willing to practice prosocial behaviors, and reported a greater number of actual behaviors." (Banyard, 2008)

The work of Alan D. Berkowitz entitled: "The Social Norms Approach to Violence Prevention" states that social norms research "…suggests that most males are mistaken about other male's attitudes and behaviors towards sex. Similarly, most males are uncomfortable with violence against women and with the attitudes, behaviors, and language of men who commit such violence (Berkowitz 2002, 2003B in: Berkowitz, nd). The problem as stated by Berkowitz is that men fail to act on their beliefs or to express their discomfort because they "think that other men do not feel the same." (nd) in fact, Berkowitz states "What men think other men think and do is one of the strongest determinants of how men act -- even when these perceptions and beliefs are mistaken. Thus, most men feel uncomfortable with characteristics and attributes of male socialization but falsely think that other men are comfortable with cultural definitions of masculinity." (nd)

Berkowitz additionally states that men "…consent in intimate relationships and are uncomfortable with language and behavior that objectifies and hurts women, but falsely assume that other men do not employ consent and are not uncomfortable with other men's negative behavior towards women (Berkowitz, 2003B; Bruce, 2002, Fabiano et al., 2003, Kilmartin, et al. 1999; White et al. 2003 in: Berkowitz, nd) the result is that men and boys fail to express their true feelings or to act upon them and become "bystanders and passive observers of other men's problem behaviors." (Berkowitz, 2002, 2003B, nd) at the same time men who "…engage in verbal and physical violence against women incorrectly interpret other men's silence as approval, thus feeling emboldened to express and act violently towards women. Thus, when values and behaviors associated with patriarchy and violence against women are seen as hegemonic, they cause most men to hide the parts of ourselves that seem inconsistent with it. Engaging men as part of the solution to violence against women requires that men come out of hiding to express attitudes and behaviors that will serve to inhibit violence by other men." (Berkowitz, nd)

Health media campaigns have used the social norms approach (Bruce, 2003) and it has been utilized in the small workshop setting (Far and Miller, 2003) and it is stated by Berkowitz (nd) "…where accurate group norms are revealed in posters and/or through interactive group exercises." (Berkowitz, nd) the work of Smolinsky reports use of the social norms approach in the development of small group norms intervention "…to foster heterosexual ally behaviors towards GLBT individuals by revealing that most straight individuals overestimate the homophobia of their straight peers." (Berkowitz, nd)

Berkowitz relates that social norms interventions require collection of data concerning "actual and perceived norms" and then the "actual norms are then reported back to the target population." (nd) Possession of the knowledge that "…one is not alone in one's beliefs and desired actions and enables the individual the freedom to act upon those beliefs and actions. In the case of men and boys, it provides permission to censor and express discomfort with the attitudes and behaviors of other males that embody "rape culture." (Berkowitz, nd)

Information that Berkowitz suggests be included in social norms marketing media or workshop presentations includes those as follows: (1) Men's misperceptions of other men's sexual activity; (2) Incorrect beliefs about other men's support of rape myths, and/or (3) False assumptions about other men's comfort with degrading language towards women. (nd) Key findings in studies in this area indicate that effective prevention can be based upon the fact that most boys and men are not comfortable when they witness harassment and violence however, in many cases they are unsure of how to respond. This suggests that "…boys can be approached as partners who have a role in ending violence against women, rather than as adversaries or as part of the problem." (Berkowitz, nd) the social norms approach has been found to be both powerful and effective towards designing interventions that are effective and that "complement other violence prevention strategies." (Berkowitz, nd)