Bystander

In theory

Bystanders are third party witnesses to situations, who can either do nothing, make the situation worse by supporting perpetrator behavior, or make the situation better by adequately intervening. In their analysis of bullying at schools, Salmivalli et al. (1996) identify four bystander roles: (1) reinforcer of the bully, who provides reinforcement e.g. by watching and/or laughing; (2) assistant of the bully, who actively joins in the bullying; (3) defender of the victim, who helps, supports and/or comforts the victim; and (4) outsider, who stays passive.

In practice

Bystanders often respond inadequately, because of several factors. They may not notice the violence, they may not identify the violence as violence, they may not take responsibility, they may lack the skills to intervene, and/or they may be afraid that intervening is negatively evaluated by their environment. These factors also seem to play a role in harassment in academia. Moreover, bystanders’ inadequate responses are strongly interwoven with the hierarchical, competitive, individualistic character of academia. Because of that culture, certain responses become “logical”, such as the protection of alleged perpetrators, especially if these are “stars”. More adequate responses, such as speaking up, starting an investigation or firing people, become “illogical”.