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The challenges of developing and implementing a bystander intervention for the prevention of DVA in communities
Abstract
Bystander intervention is showing promise as a strategy for violence reduction. Following successful preliminary evaluation of The Intervention Initiative (TII), a bystander programme for universities, a Public Health department in a local authority commissioned a DVA-specific version of TII for communities which became Active Bystander Communities (ABC). This paper documents, in narrative and reflexive form, the challenges and complexities faced by the research team and practitioners in translating TII into a new context for a new audience. We review findings from research, document the theoretical rationale underpinning the new programme, and its content and adherence to effective prevention criteria. We discuss the community readiness model and results of our engagement with a wider practitioner base and how feedback informed further programme development. We document the importance of the intersect and interplay of academic work with practitioner ‘real world’ realities. We discuss two fundamental theoretical issues: the meaning of ‘communities’ in this context, and the safety of interventions expressing social disapproval of problematic male behaviour to perpetrators designed to shift social norms. Government cuts have affected the structures and the staffing required to pilot the intervention in communities. Further research into effectiveness of the intervention and barriers to implementation is needed.
... Furthermore, perceiving and understanding violence as a continuum enables us to see less severe acts of violence alongside and in relation to more severe forms of violence (Kelly, 1988). Successful prevention programmes have been found to be related to both organisational factors, such as support from the management, enough resources for training and supervision, and the theoretical framework and content (Fenton et al, 2016(Fenton et al, , 2019Flood, 2019). ...
... Due to this, we see a need for more extensive training and support, especially if teachers are to be MVP leaders as educators in Sweden often lack knowledge concerning gender, violence and the links between these (Ekstrand et al, 2011;Universitetskanslerämbetet, 2015). The challenges associated with manual fidelity and implementation documented in the evaluation point to the importance of clarifying the requirements in terms of organisation and management when introducing MVP in schools, as well as the importance of training and support for leaders carrying out violence prevention programmes (see Fenton et al, 2016Fenton et al, , 2019Flood, 2019). ...
This article explores the challenges that were detected in the first evaluation of the violence prevention programme Mentors in Violence Prevention at senior levels of compulsory schools and upper-secondary schools in Sweden. In particular, we analyse how the gender-transformative dimension and the bystander perspective aspect of the programme played out in the classroom. What are the implications of implementing a gender-transformative violence prevention programme such as Mentors in Violence Prevention when it is carried out by teachers in the school setting? The empirical basis for this study includes classroom observations during all seven Mentors in Violence Prevention sessions in two schools, and group interviews with a total of 14 teachers and 26 pupils (aged 13–19) from five schools. Our findings suggest that most teachers did not appear to be comfortable with either the Mentors in Violence Prevention programme’s pedagogical model or its theoretical approach. Consequently, they occasionally worked in manners contrary to the programme’s intentions. However, observations and interviews demonstrated that a learning process about gender-based violence had been initiated. It may be necessary to make further adjustments if Mentors in Violence Prevention is to be used in schools in Sweden, particularly if teachers are to be the programme leaders.
Key messages
When implementing gender-transformative violence prevention programmes in schools, teachers need extensive training and support.
The risk of othering associated with the bystander approach, as well as the tensions between this approach and feminist understandings of gender and violence, must be dealt with in a mindful way. </ul
... This confrontation may result in negative social consequences for the perpetrator, such as censure from extended family and friends, which may reduce the likelihood that the perpetrator will engage in the same behaviors in the future (Cochran et al., 2011(Cochran et al., , 2017Mihalic & Elliott, 1997). Further, bystander interventions can begin to set a clear injunctive norm in groups and broader society that early IPV behaviors are not appropriate or tolerated (Emery et al., 2020;Fenton et al., 2019;Pagliaro et al., 2020). ...
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is common and has a lasting negative impact on the health and well-being of victims and survivors. People’s mental frameworks (schemas) of IPV are central in allowing them to identify and respond to IPV. Early recognition of IPV is essential to reducing the cumulative harm caused by repeated instances of abusive behaviors. In relationships with IPV, abuse typically starts with relatively less harmful behaviors, which may be ambiguous in isolation, and escalates. The present research examines the content of lay people’s IPV schemas to gain insight into their understanding of the presentation and progression of IPV. Participants (N = 168) were presented with two exemplars each of three different relationship types (nonabusive, nonphysically abusive, and physically abusive) resulting in a total of six exemplars. They were also presented with a list of behaviors that comprised nonabusive, nonphysically abusive, and physically abusive actions. For each exemplar, participants selected the behaviors they considered most likely to co-occur with the exemplar behavior. They then rated the abusiveness of the behavioral clusters they had created. Results indicate that participants distinguish nonabusive, physically abusive, and nonphysically abusive clusters. Nonphysically abusive behavior clusters are seen as less abusive than physically abusive behavior clusters, with nonphysically abusive behaviors more likely to be grouped with nonabusive behaviors.
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