Bystander Intervention Opportunities and Prosocial Behaviors Among Gender and Sexual Minority College Students
Abstract
Bystander intervention education has proliferated as a popular strategy to address campus interpersonal violence, including intimate partner and sexual violence, which remain major public health concerns. Much of the work on bystander engagement, however, is cis- and heteronormative (i.e., centered on those individuals whose gender identity aligns with their biological sex at birth and/or who identify as heterosexual), thus failing to capture the experiences of students who identify as gender or sexual minorities (GSM), a population at increased risk for interpersonal violence. Research has demonstrated that cisgender females face an increased likelihood of victimization, which is related to greater awareness of intimate partner and sexual violence and results in more prosocial intentions and prosocial behaviors. The question remains whether this extends beyond cisgender females. The current study is a secondary analysis of data collected in a web-based sexual assault prevention course designed for undergraduate students and implemented at their respective institutions. Data from 474,395 undergraduate students, aged 18–23 years, were used to answer the research question. Results indicate that students’ bystander intervention opportunities and prosocial behaviors differ based on GSM status. For example, although cisgender bisexual women, transwomen, and genderqueer/gender nonconforming (GNC) students were more likely to report having the opportunity to intervene in sexual assault situations, relative to cisgender heterosexual women, the latter two groups were less likely to intervene. Further, cisgender gay and bisexual men, as well as transmen and genderqueer/GNC students were more likely to report having the opportunity to intervene in dating abuse situations, relative to cisgender heterosexual men, and cisgender gay men were more likely to report having intervened. Given the call for centering research on minoritized student experiences, this research is a vital step toward recognizing the diversity of those experiences for GSM students, a population at risk for victimization.
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Author Biographies
Jill Hoxmeier, PhD, is an associate professor of Public Health in the Department of Health Sciences at Central Washington University. Her research focuses on understanding the role of prosocial bystanders, and initiatives to promote such, in the primary prevention of sexual violence.
Annelise Mennicke, PhD, is an assistant professor of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Her research focuses on promoting environments that are free from violence by developing and evaluating comprehensive, inclusive violence prevention programs.
Sarah McMahon, PhD, is an associate professor at the Rutgers University School of Social Work and also serves as the Director for the School’s Center on Violence Against Women and Children. Her research focuses on power-based violence, with an emphasis on using ecological frameworks to examine prevention and social change.
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Article first published online: October 21, 2020
Issue published: May 2022
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PubMed: 33084481
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