Bringing in the Bystander - High Schools
Target population
Bringing in the Bystander High School (BitB High School) is targeted at adolescents in high school.
Delivery organisation
BitB High School was developed at the University of New Hampshire’s Prevention Innovations Research Center, and is distributed by Soteria Solutions. Soteria Solutions are national leaders in the area of sexual and interpersonal violence harassment prevention.
Mode and context of delivery
BitB High School is designed to be implemented within a high school setting and can be customised to reflect the locations, colloquialisms and culture of the school. The BitB High School curriculum involves information being distributed to young people within a class room setting.
Level/Nature of staff expertise required
Relevant staff need to attend facilitator training in order to deliver BitB High School within their educational facility. A curriculum license is valid for three years, and is required to attend training.
Intensity/extent of engagement with target group(s)
Students are required to attend seven 45-minute modules which are designed to fit within a typical high school day.
Description of intervention
BitB High School is an adapted version of the Bringing in the Bystander College Prevention Program (hyperlink to template?). BitB High School is an in-person educational program that encourages participants to become positive bystanders in instances of sexual and interpersonal violence and harassment. The seven modules focus upon:
- Relationship abuse
- Sexual assault
- Spectrum of abuse
- Positive bystanders
- Recognising warning signs
- Positive bystander strategies
- Scenarios
Overall adolescents will learn to identify problems, about the realities of relationship abuse and sexual assault, and how these realities negatively impact on individuals and communities. They will also learn practical skills for safe and effective intervention, how to prevent problems from arising, and how to contribute to building a healthier community.
Evaluation
BitB High School launched following an extensive evaluation at 26 high schools. The evaluation was funded, in part, by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Initial results suggested the program was well-liked by students and school staff, and effective in leading to some types of attitudinal behavior change. BITB High School also showed a promising reduction in some types of violence, specifically sexual harassment and stalking.
The concept of BitB has been suggested as more effective than traditional prevention models (Peterson, et al, 2016). Moynihan et al (2015) found that bystanders engaged in more behaviours to help strangers one year after completing the BitB programme, and suggested that engaging with prevention messages through scenarios and hands-on skill building educates students on how to recognise bystander opportunities. It was also found that although there was a decline in helping behaviors over the course of a year, such students still exhibited more helping behaviours than students who did not engage with BitB.
References
Moynihan, M. M., Banyard, V. L., Cares, A. C., Potter, S. J., Williams, L. M., & Stapleton, J. G. (2015). Encouraging responses in sexual and relationship violence prevention: What program effects remain 1 year later? Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 30(1), 110-132.
Peterson, K., Sharps, P., Banyard, V., Powers, R. A., Kaukinen, C., Gross, D., & Campbell, J. (2018). An evaluation of two dating violence prevention programs on a college campus. Journal of interpersonal violence, 33(23), 3630-3655.
Contact details
https://www.soteriasolutions.org/college/
9 Madbury Road, Suite 404, Durham, NH, 03824, United States
(603) 862-7020
https://www.soteriasolutions.org/contact for the contact form
INFORMATION CORRECT AT JUNE 2020
RATING: Effective