This article reviews the literature on bystander intervention with a view to establishing what we know about how guardians can be effective in preventing, disrupting, or reducing the severity of sexual offenses against women through intervention. Viewing bystanders as potential guardians, this review explores what is currently known about the presence of potential guardians at the scene of sexual offenses against women, and how these potential guardians respond to witnessing such events. Research shows that the likelihood and type of intervention by available guardians varies across situational contexts. Relatedly, trends in the characteristics of available and active guardians also reveal the importance of individual characteristics such as age, and most significantly gender, in affecting the willingness to intervene and perceptions of capability in intervening in various situational contexts. Results suggest that while men generally have greater confidence in their physical capability to intervene directly, women generally express a greater willingness to help and are more likely to intervene indirectly. The implications of these gendered bystander responses for sexual assault prevention are discussed.
BalembaS.BeauregardE. (2012). Reactions to resistance: The role of contextual factors in sex offending. Violence and victims, 27, 148–165.
2.
BanyardV. L. (2008). Measurement and correlates of pro-social bystander behavior: The case of interpersonal violence. Violence and Victims, 23, 85–99.
3.
BanyardV. L. (2011). Who will help prevent sexual violence: Creating an ecological model of bystander intervention. Psychology of violence, 1, 216–229.
4.
BanyardV. L.MoynihanM. M. (2011). Variation in bystander behavior related to sexual and intimate partner violence prevention: Correlates in a sample of college students. Psychology of Violence, 1, 287–301.
5.
BeauregardE.LeclercB. (2007). An application of the rational choice approach to the offending process of sex offenders: A closer look at the decision-making. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 19, 115–133.
6.
BennettS.BanyardV. L.GarnhartL. (2014). To act or not to act, that is the question? Barriers and facilitators of bystander intervention. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29, 476–496.
7.
BrownA. L.Messman-MooreT. L. (2010). Personal and perceived peer attitudes supporting sexual aggression as predictors of male college students’ willingness to intervene against sexual aggression. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25, 503–517.
8.
BurgessG. H. (2007). Assessment of rape-supportive attitudes and beliefs in college men: Development, reliability, and validity of the rape attitudes and beliefs scale. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 973–993.
9.
BurnS. M. (2009). A situational model of sexual assault prevention through bystander intervention. Sex Roles, 60, 779–792.
10.
ChabotH. F.TracyT.ManningC.PoissonC. (2009). Sex, attribution and severity influence intervention decisions of informal helpers in domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24, 1696–1713.
11.
ClarkR. D.WordL. E. (1972). Why don’t bystanders help? Because of ambiguity?Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 24, 392–400.
12.
Clay-WarnerJ. (2002). Avoiding rape: The effects of protective actions and situational factors on rape outcomes. Violence and Victims, 17, 691–705.
13.
Clay-WarnerJ. (2003). The context of sexual violence: Situational predictors of self-protective actions. Violence and victims, 18, 543–556.
14.
CohenL. E.FelsonM. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44, 588–608.
15.
Deslauriers-VarinN.BeauregardE. (2010). Victims’ routine activities and sex offenders’ target selection scripts: A latent class analysis. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 22, 315–342.
16.
EaglyA. H.CrowleyM. (1986). Gender and helping behavior: A meta-analytic review of the social psychological literature. Psychological Bulletin, 100, 283–308.
17.
FelsonM. (1995). Those who discourage crime. In EckJ.WeisburdD. (Eds.), Crime and place: Crime prevention studies (pp. 53–66). Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.
18.
FischerP.GreitemeyerT.PollozekF.FreyD. (2006). The unresponsive bystander: Are bystanders more responsive in dangerous emergencies?European Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 267–278.
19.
FischerP.KruegerJ. I.GreitemeyerT.VogrincicC.KastenmüllerA.FreyD.…KainbacherM. (2011). The bystander-effect: A meta-analytic review on bystander intervention in dangerous and non-dangerous emergencies. Psychological Bulletin, 137, 517–537.
20.
FloodM. (2010). Where men stand: Men’s roles in ending violence against women (White Ribbon Prevention Series, No. 2). Sydney, Australia: White Ribbon Prevention Foundation.
21.
GageE. A. (2008). Gender attitudes and sexual behaviors: Comparing center and marginal athletes and non-athletes in a collegiate setting. Violence Against Women, 14, 1014–1032.
22.
GueretteR. T.SantanaS. A. (2010). Explaining victim self-protective behavior effects on crime incident outcomes a test of opportunity theory. Crime & Delinquency, 56, 198–226.
23.
HarariH.HarariO.WhiteR.V. (1985). The reaction to rape by American male bystanders. The Journal of Social Psychology, 122, 653–658.
24.
HartT. C.MietheT. D. (2008). Exploring bystander presence and intervention in nonfatal violent victimization: When does helping really help?Violence and Victims, 23, 637–651.
25.
HewittA.BeauregardE. (2014). Sexual crime and place: The impact of the environmental context on sexual assault outcomes. Journal of Criminal Justice, 42, 375–383.
26.
Hollis-PeelM. E.WelshB. C. (2014). What makes a guardian capable? A test of guardianship in action. Security Journal, 27, 320–337.
27.
LanerM. R.BeninM. H.VentroneN. A. (2001). Bystander attitudes toward victims of violence: Who’s worth helping?Deviant Behavior, 22, 23–42.
28.
LataneB.DarleyJ. M. (1970). The unresponsive bystander: Why doesn’t he help? New York, NY: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
29.
LeclercB.ChiuY. (2016). An examination of sexual offenses against women by acquaintances: The utility of a script framework for prevention purposes. In LeclercB.SavonaE. (Eds.), Crime prevention in the 21st century. New York, NY: Springer.
30.
LeclercB.ProulxJ.BeauregardE. (2009). Examining the modus operandi of sexual offenders against children and its practical implications. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 14, 5–12.
31.
LeclercB.SmallboneS.WortleyR. (2015). Prevention nearby: The influence of the presence of a potential guardian on the severity of child sexual abuse. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 27, 189–204.
32.
LevineM.CassidyC.BrazierG.ReicherS. (2002). Self-categorization and bystander non-intervention: Two experimental studies. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32, 1452–1463.
33.
LevineM.CrowtherS. (2008). The responsive bystander: How social group membership and group size can encourage as well as inhibit bystander intervention. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1429–1439.
34.
LevineM.ProsserA.EvansD.ReicherS. (2005). Identity and emergency intervention: How social group membership and inclusiveness of group boundaries shape helping behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 443–453.
35.
LievoreD. (2003). Non-reporting and hidden recording of sexual assault: An international literature review. Canberra, Australia: Commonwealth Office of the Status of Women.
36.
MalamuthN. M. (1981). Rape proclivity among males. Journal of Social Issues, 37, 138–157.
37.
MarchbanksP. A.LuiK. J.MercyJ. A. (1990). Risk of injury from resisting rape. American Journal of Epidemiology, 132, 540–549.
38.
McMahonS.BanyardV. L. (2012). When can I help? A conceptual framework for the prevention of sexual violence through bystander intervention. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 13, 3–14.
39.
MouzosJ.MakkaiT. (2004). Women’s experiences of male violence: Findings from the Australian component of the international violence against women survey (Research and Public Policy Series no. 56). Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Criminology.
40.
NicksaS.C. (2014) Bystander’s willingness to report theft, physical assault, and sexual assault: The impact of gender, anonymity, and relationship with the offender. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2, 217–236.
41.
NugentS.BurnsD.WilsonP.ChappellD. (1989). Armed robbery from an offender’s perspective: Implications for prevention. Canberra, Australia: Australian Institute of Criminology.
42.
PedneaultA.BeauregardE. (2014). Routine activities and time use a latent profile approach to sexual offenders’ lifestyles. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 26, 34–57.
43.
PlantyM. (2002). Third-party involvement in violent crime, 1993–1999. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice.
44.
ReynaldD. M. (2009). Guardianship in action: Developing a new tool for measurement. Crime Prevention & Community Safety, 11, 1–20.
45.
ReynaldD. M. (2010). Guardians on guardianship: Factors affecting the willingness to supervise, the ability to detect potential offenders, and the willingness to intervene. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 47, 358–390.
46.
ReynaldD. M. (2011a). Factors associated with the guardianship of places: Assessing the relative importance of the spatio-physical and sociodemographic contexts in generating opportunities for capable guardianship. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 48, 110–142.
47.
ReynaldD. M. (2011b). Guarding against crime: Measuring guardianship within routine activity theory. London, England: Ashgate Publishers.
48.
ShotlandR. L.StrawM. K. (1976). Bystander response to an assault: When a man attacks a woman. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 990–999.
49.
TarkJ.KleckG. (2014). Resisting rape the effects of victim self-protection on rape completion and injury. Violence against women, 20, 270–292.
50.
UllmanS. E. (2007). A 10-year update of “review and critique of empirical studies of rape avoidance.” Criminal Justice and Behavior, 34, 411–429.
51.
UnderwoodR. C.PatchP. C.CappellettyG. C.WolfeR. W. (1999). Do sexual offenders molest when other people are present? A preliminary investigation. Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, 11, 243–247.
