There is a lethal outbreak sweeping our nation. For decades, this contagion has spread through every aspect of American society – moving stealthily across genders, generations, races, ethnic groups, and socio-economic statuses. However, almost daily, national news headlines are exposing some of the outbreak's biggest secrets. Violence, the underbelly of America, is finally being uncovered, and the perpetrators are not necessarily ones that others might suspect. High profile and prominent entertainers, athletes, politicians, clergy, and business people have been accused, and some convicted, of domestic violence, date rape, and stalking. However, interpersonal violence can affect anyone, and the statistics are staggering. Each year in the United States:
- 1 in 4 women and 1 in 33 men are sexually assaultedi
- Nearly 3 in 10 women and 1 in 10 men have experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by a current or former intimate partnerii
- 3.4 million men and women are stalkediii
The Public Health Foundation (PHF) envisions a strong public health system with healthy practices, healthy people, and healthy places. In order for this to be achieved, public health and healthcare professionals must individually and collectively work to address the issue of interpersonal violence. By providing helpful resources, PHF works to improve population health.
Practicing bystander intervention, or the act of stepping in on someone else’s behalf in a potentially dangerous situation, is one way to help protect the populations you serve. Here are a few tips to help you help your community:
Safe and Effective Intervention Practices
- Notice and recognize that something is wrong.
- Take personal responsibility and step up to say no to violence.
- Know how you can safely and effectively help the situation.
The 3 D’s of Intervention
- Direct. Intervene by addressing the potential perpetrator or victim.
- Distract. Use some form of distraction, such as interrupting a conversation, to diffuse a potentially dangerous situation.
- Delegate. Report to the police by calling 911 if a situation could put you in immediate danger.
Someone you serve may disclose private information to you about an incidence of interpersonal violence or an unwanted sexual experience. Following are some guidelines that may be beneficial during this type of conversation:
- Believe him/her. Give verbal affirmation to a survivor of interpersonal violence.
- Practice effective listening. Allow a survivor to tell you as much or as little as he/she deems necessary in order for him/her to begin the journey of safety and healing.
- Use similar language. Match a survivor’s language. Do not diagnose or label a survivor’s trauma.
- Do not give orders. Give a survivor the chance to make decisions on his/her own accord. The commonality in all these crimes is that a perpetrator aims to establish power and control. Do not force a survivor of interpersonal violence to report the trauma or to seek medical help.
- Know the facts. Get educated with state laws, which can be found through most national interpersonal violence hotlines.
- Take care of yourself. Refer a survivor to someone else if a survivor’s disclosure of information makes you uncomfortable.
These tips and information will help you to better serve those you reach. PHF also provides resources to educate, inform, and transform behaviors associated with interpersonal violence.
Additional resources:
Sources:
iRape, Abuse & Incest National Network www.rainn.org
iiThe National Domesic Violence Hotline www.thehotline.org
iiiSafeHorizon www.safehorizon.org