Who Intervenes and When? Individual and Situational Correlates of Bystander Behavior When Sexual Images Are Shared Nonconsensually

Abstract

Although a popular approach for sexual violence prevention, limited research has explored the role of bystander intervention in the nonconsensual distribution of sexual images (NCD). Among 1,095 undergraduate students, online survey results indicated that although 76% had the opportunity to intervene, only 33% intervened prosocially; the most common prosocial intervention was confronting the perpetrator (28.2% of bystanders). Individual (e.g., bystander gender, sexual orientation, and prior bystander behavior) and situational variables (e.g., perpetrator and victim importance, victim gender, and how the images were shown/shared) were significantly associated with varied bystander behaviors, bearing implications for research and practice.

Keywords

NCD bystander intervention image-based sexual abuse college students

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