October is SafeU Month at the University of Utah, and there will be dozens of opportunities to engage in safety awareness, education and training opportunities on campus. See what’s happening throughout the month here.

This third week (Oct. 14-20) of SafeU Month is focused on mental and emotional wellness—a call to have all U students, faculty and staff feel more connected to each other and to themselves. When you’re taking care of yourself first, you can be better prepared to care for others, including through bystander intervention.

Bystander Intervention

The Bystander Effect, distilled to its simplest form: The more people there are to witness an event—even if the risk level is low—the less likely it is that any of those individuals will do or say anything on behalf of one or more of the group members. There’s an expectation that someone else will step in and intervene. In the end, no one does anything.

The U’s Center for Student Wellness strives to flip that thinking on its head through its Bystander Intervention Training. The goal is to create a culture that embraces the idea of stepping in by increasing individuals’ comfort level with taking that step and fostering an expectation that faculty, staff and students think to themselves, “I have to do something, I have to say something. If not me, then who?”

The training often begins with a scenario of two acquaintances. One is walking through the hallway of a building on campus, and the other is sitting alone. Visual cues show the person sitting alone has red and puffy eyes, closed-off body posture and tears on their face. So, what do you do?

“We need to reframe what we believe about being an active bystander,” said Brittany Badger, director of the Center for Student Wellness. “It’s more than just jumping in at the last minute to help someone. We don’t have to wait until something feels critical – checking in more often and earlier shows others that we care. Yes, there will be times to intervene in the moment, but more often, being an active bystander can be as simple as asking someone how they are doing and if you can help.”

How to be an active bystander: Step in. Speak up.

Notice the event.

Limit distractions and be aware of your immediate environment and surroundings.

Next, interpret the event as a problem.

Without all of the information, it may be easy to convince yourself that the situation isn’t a problem and doesn’t warrant help.

Once you recognize a problem, assume personal responsibility.

Consider these questions: If I were in their shoes, what would I want? What might happen if I don’t intervene? And, if not me, then who?

Understand what your role is and isn’t.

You may not be qualified to handle an emergency situation, but you can help by being a good listener and friend and offering resources when appropriate.

Step up and intervene.

Intervening can be scary. We are socialized to mind our own business, so whenever we choose to intervene it can feel nerve-wracking. One of the most important roles of a bystander is be able to refer someone to resources.

If your college, department, student club or organization would like to request a Bystander Intervention Training, click here or visit the Center for Student Wellness “Workshops & Trainings” page.

If you would like to become a trained facilitator to bring Bystander Intervention to your team, register for Train-the-Trainer on Nov. 5 and 12, 2019.