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Note: This is part one in a series of three stories about Bystander Intervention, a new program within the 3rd Infantry Division and Fort Stewart.
FORT STEWART, Ga., -- What is Bystander Intervention?
In order to understand what Bystander Intervention is, first you must understand what a bystander is. A bystander is any person who finds themselves in a situation in which they observe an emergency or an event where it looks like someone could use some help. When an individual becomes a bystander, they must then decide if they will step in and offer assistance.
While this is pretty straight forward, and ‘stepping in’ seems like the right thing to do, according to the Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute’s website, many studies have shown that even well-intentioned people are inclined to struggle with the question of whether helping out is their responsibility.
One of the major obstacles to a bystander and their intervening when necessary is something called “diffusion of responsibility.” Diffusion of responsibility is an idea, which postulates that if several people are present during a situation which requires intervention, an individual is much less likely to intervene because that individual believes someone else present will.
Other common reasons researchers have found that bystanders fail to intervene are that the situation is not an obvious and clear emergency, so the bystander is worried about misinterpreting the situation and in turn making an embarrassment of themselves by acting incorrectly socially when attempting to intervene. Also sometimes a bystander comes to believe that the person needing help is somehow responsible for the situation and is getting what they are due. There is also the fear of reprisal if others look at the intervention negatively. In fact there are many reasons people cite when queried why they did not or would not act as a bystander.
Here at Fort Stewart, the 3rd Infantry Division command has taken a stand against bystander complacency. While the call to action was certainly in response to the growing understanding of how pervasive the sexual harassment and assault problem is within the ranks of the military, the program is designed to apply to all situations where Soldiers are in a situation where their action could prevent a poor situation from turning into a crisis.
“This is a values based community built upon trust and promotion of good judgment at every level. We have great expectations of Dog-Faced Soldiers and the members of our great Marne community, but we all come from very different walks of life with differing value definitions … one of my expectations is for everyone to be an active bystander and intervene when they encounter a situation that has the potential to produce negative results,” explained Brig. Gen. James Blackburn, commander, Task Force Marne, 3rd Infantry Division.
In order to accomplish this expectation, the 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team “Raiders”, have grown the Bystander Intervention program they originally developed for their BCT to be used by the entire division.
“It hit me around the summer of 2012, when I was watching [the news] and I realized that [the military] had a problem that wasn’t going away,” explained Master Sgt. Jeff Fenlason, director of the Raiders Initiatives Group, 1st ABCT, in regards to the sexual harassment and assault epidemic which came to light.
After that Fenlason got approval from the Raider command team and began investigating the issue through the Raider’s Initiative Group. The idea of Bystander Intervention was introduced to them through research, and they realized it was a powerful and applicable model for today’s Army.
“We want to empower the 95 percent of the good people [in the community] to actually take action,” said Fenlason.
The program that has been developed now is running smoothly, and is scheduled to meet the Marne Division’s requirement that all Marne Soldiers are to be trained in Bystander Intervention by the beginning of the fiscal year of 2016.
“The program is designed to facilitate a cultural shift that creates a bias for action which empowers Soldiers to intervene in critical situations before they occur,” Fenlason explained.
Indeed the program has been such a success that the Bystander Intervention facilitators here have been traveling around the clock, bringing the Rock of the Marne’s Bystander Intervention training and empowerment to Army units and installations across the Nation.
A trend that seems vastly important in today’s Army.
“As a member of our profession, the Army Values and Warrior Ethos are the basis for every decision and action we take,” said Blackburn. “This training addresses the underlying issues that contribute to an entire spectrum of high risk situations and destructive behaviors such as suicide, domestic violence, and sexual assault. We live in a community that is doing everything it can to change those outcomes.”
In the weeks ahead, look to the Frontline, where the program itself and its structure and principles will be featured in upcoming articles. You will also get to read about some of the Facilitators of the program, and how some have benefited already from Bystander Intervention.
Other contributors to this story include the DEOMI at https://www.deomi.org/CommDirectorInfo/BystanderIntervention.cfm
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2015 09:04 |
| Story ID: | 166259 |
| Location: | FORT STEWART, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 168 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Bystander Intervention; take a stand, step up, by SSG Richard Wrigley, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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