See something, say something: bystanders asked to take action in sexual assault prevention

  • Published
  • By Alton Dunham
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  While enjoying a night out, you casually observe a group across the bar having a few drinks, laughs and shots. As the night wears on, they start to disperse - some head to the dance floor, others make their way to a cab. What started as five or six guys fawning over a girl has dwindled to a duo, and the laughs have simmered. Now, an aggressive suitor is spending more effort keeping his female counterpart upright than on the typical courting ritual of two consenting adults. After another barely touched "round", he reaches for her arm and gestures toward the exit.

You see them prepare to leave together, but your gut tells you that something's not right. What do you do?

Janet Morrison, Hurlburt Field's sexual assault response coordinator, wants you to follow your instincts and have the courage to act.

"Typically in society we tend not to get involved in something that doesn't directly pertain to us," Morrison explained. "The intention may be perfectly harmless, or it might be a sexual predator trying to isolate a victim so they can assault them, but when in doubt you should intervene."

To assist with this, the Air Force has implemented mandatory bystander intervention training to avert sexual assault force-wide. Sexual assault is defined as "intentional sexual contact, characterized by use of force, physical threat or abuse of authority or when the victim does not or cannot consent."

According to Morrison, simply asking if everything is alright, or suggesting friends get the other person home safely can often be enough. Sometimes, a bystander might need to report what he or she observed to their chain of command, and seek guidance on how to respond. Morrison herself is on-call 24 hours a day and is willing to help.

"Bystander intervention trains that it is our job to intervene; it is our job to step up and say something when we witness an act that is either offensive, harms someone or could lead to something else," Morrison said.

She calls this "see something, say something."

Not every scenario that leads to sexual assault is obvious, and that's when awareness and bystander intervention becomes crucial.

Before most assaults the perpetrator has already worked to isolate a victim, by gaining trust or placing the victim in a vulnerable position. Often in plain view of others.

"We are trying to get people to step up and ask, 'what is the intention there?'"

Yet many bystanders choose to stay silent out of fear or complacency.

Social psychologists believe a common reason is pluralistic ignorance. In sum, while in a group setting that requires action most people assume that the situation must not be too bad since no one else is acting.

Also at work is diffusion of responsibility, which Morrison summarizes as "the larger the crowd the less likely an individual feels compelled to act."

Essentially, everyone in a group is convinced that someone else will do something so they won't have to.

Many times, no one acts at all.

The Air Force is training its force to not just notice, but to take a personal stake in preventing assault and acting toward prevention.

Capt. Mariko Dailey, intelligence flight commander of the 14th Weapons Squadron has placed herself on the forefront of this initiative; she volunteers to help others as a victim advocate and as Hurlburt's alternate SARC. Since 2010, Daily has trained over a thousand Airmen at Hurlburt.

She points out that Airmen shouldn't assume they aren't at risk because they are surrounded by peers they already know.

"It's not necessarily a stranger situation all the time," Dailey said. "Through this training, we are reframing how people think about sexual assault in the military -- it's not always stranger rape that is happening -- it is often between acquaintances. Often, the victim is groomed by a perpetrator."

In some cases the camaraderie and bond shared by Air Commandos can also be used to exploit a victim.

"The Air Force is full of very talented, capable and trustworthy people and they want to believe the same thing about everyone else in the military as well." Dailey said. "[Because of this] we are sometimes unassuming about what could be going on, or abuses of power. I'm not saying we need to scrutinize our peers at every turn, but it is important to empower ourselves and be able to recognize potential signs."

An additional reality is that there are not as many perpetrators as the Air Force believed.
"There are actually a few repeat offenders that are doing a lot of harm," Morrison said.

"That leaves a large population that is not offending, and what we want is for everyone to recognize the signs and signals. To not be afraid to say something, to step up, to make a report, help a friend, or hold people accountable - at all levels."

A goal of bystander intervention training is imparting in Airmen the knowledge and confidence they are doing the right thing so that they are willing to take preventive action.
"I think the temporary discomfort you might experience if you misjudge a situation is a very small price to pay compared to preventing something truly big from happening," Dailey adds.

"If you have a gut feeling that something could be wrong, follow it."

For more information about SARC, call DSN: 884-7272.