Preliminary Correlates of Teachers’ Intent to Engage in Bystander Intervention in Response to Gender- Based Violence and Harassment Among High School Students

Gender-based violence and harassment (GVBH) is associated with a variety of adverse outcomes. Among adolescents in the United States, sexual harassment is prevalent, impacting nearly half of seventh to twelfth graders each year. Bystander intervention is a promising approach to prevent sexual harassment among youth which encourages individuals to act when they witness risk for harm among members of their community. Teachers are important members of school communities and have the potential to act as proactive bystanders to GBVH in schools. Accordingly, the present preliminary study examines correlates of teachers' self-reported perceived likelihood to intervene in instances of peer-to-peer GVBH. Self-report surveys were administered to 936 educators from 26 high schools in the Northeast United States. Surveys included measures of perceived educator and student norms, barriers to bystander intervention, and perceived likelihood to engage in bystander intervention in instances of student-to-student GBVH. Regression analyses indicated that perceptions of positive student and school personnel norms regarding bystander intervention, as well as perceiving fewer barriers to intervention were associated with a greater perceived likelihood of intervening in instances of GBVH among students. Additionally, transgender and female educators reported greater perceived likelihood to intervene than male educators, and transgender educators reported greater perceived likelihood than cisgender educators. Results of the present preliminary study suggest that perceptions of student attitudes toward bystander intervention are an important correlate of educator intervention in instances of GBVH among students, which can help to inform prevention efforts with high school educators.