bystander intervention
Onlooker steps in
Bystander intervention is the act of stepping in when witnessing harmful behavior—harassment, assault, discrimination, or emergencies—rather than remaining passive.
Intervention can be direct confrontation, distraction, delegation to authorities, or simply checking on the person being targeted: The training taught employees bystander intervention techniques.
The term appears frequently in discussions of sexual harassment prevention and campus safety programs.
- moral courageStrength to act ethically
- do the right thingBehave with moral integrity
- empathySharing another's emotions
- helping handSupport given to another
- peer pressureInfluence from one's equals
active listening · de-escalation techniques · moral reasoning · safety planning · conflict resolution · safe space · assertiveness training · ethical dilemmas · situational awareness · crowd dynamics · community engagement · see something say something · collective action · upstander · social norms · social influence · human rights advocacy · speak truth
bystander interventionbystander effect
Inaction amid witnesses
standing by · inaction · doing nothing · looking the other way · nonintervention
bystander interventioncomplicity
Shared criminal involvement
enabling · joining in · collusion · egging on · piling on
bystander interventiondetachment
Separation or emotional uninvolvement
disassociation · walking away · social withdrawal · self-preservation · conflict avoidance
bystander, intervention, by, stand, stander, bystanders, intervene, intervenes, intervened