Bystander Intervention

Abstract

Sexual harassment in the workplace is a prevalent issue, with 60% of women reporting that they have experienced workplace sexual harassment. In this chapter, the authors offer the bystander intervention as a strategy for preventing and coping with sexual harassment at work. Bystander intervention behavior can include removing a victim from a harassing situation, speaking up to a harasser, or reporting the harasser on behalf of the victim. Bystander intervention trainings have the ability to give men the perception of psychological standing in the issue of sexual harassment. Positive deviance can be a large factor in bystander interventions. Bystander intervention trainings are also shown to positively change perceptions on issues of gender equity and sexual harassment. Traditional sexual harassment trainings that simply go over policies can actually reinforce gender stereotypes, and it is not clear that they change attitudes or behavior surrounding sexual harassment.