SAPR QUICK
REFERENCE GUIDE
2/C PCA
Objectives
• Define bystander intervention
• Understand how to effectively intervene as a bystander
• Understand victim impact and the decisions a survivor
must face after a sexual assault
• Be able to recognize behaviors a survivor may exhibit due
to the aftermath of the sexual assault
Bystander Intervention
• An individual or group of individuals (bystanders) witness
a situation between other people developing that could
turn into something bad or dangerous, and the bystanders
choose to act to stop it from escalating any further
(intervention)
• Internal Stages of Bystander Intervention
• Notice the event
• Interpret the event as a problem
• Determine whether or not you are responsible for dealing with the
problem
• Determine whether or not you have the skills and resources to act
• Act
Effective Bystander Intervention
• Make the decision to intervene and, most importantly, do it
even if it means you’re the first to point out that there is a
problem
• Possible Strategies
• Group Intervention
• Gather a group to help you
• “We’re friends, right?”
• If it is your friend, talk to him/her
privately and appeal to your
relationship
• Clarification
• Simply asking if what is developing
is consensual could help stop
something bad from happening
• Bring it home
• Humanize the people involved by
comparing them to family members
• Humor
• Reduce the tension as you
intervene
• Distraction
• Interrupting a situation can give you
the time to separate the people
involved and get them to safer
places
• Delegate
• Ask the person’s friend to help
instead, if you are uncomfortable
when someone you don’t know is
involved
Understanding Victim Impact
• 4 Themes of Victim Impact
• Control
• Your body is supposed to be your own. After a sexual assault a survivor is stuck with
making decisions about what he or she should do and none of the options feel good.
• Self-Blame
• We know that military sexual assault survivors are inclined to take on more
responsibility and self-blame because of our characteristics and training. These very
beliefs can actually be obstacles in seeking help and healing. Typically, it takes a long
time for a survivor to forgive him or herself. A lot depends on the social situation and
culture around the survivor.
• Trust
• Military members are supposed to rely on each other to achieve the mission and
sometimes, to protect their lives. When that trust is betrayed through sexual assault by
a military member or someone else they trust, a survivor’s ability to trust often suffers.
• Safety
• Not only was their body violated in a circumstance where they likely had felt safe, but a
person whom they trusted betrayed them. Survivors that do not feel safe anymore,
could start avoiding social situations, fearing situations where they are alone and
isolated, not wanting to leave their berthing area, skipping work obligations, etc.
Understanding Victim Impact, pt. 2
• A victim of sexual assault must face many decisions after
the already traumatic incident
• Seeking medical treatment
• To report or not to report
• To seek help from law enforcement by choosing an unrestricted report
or to make a restricted report and not involve the police
• Seeking mental health treatment
• Who to confide in about the assault
• Factors that impact these decisions:
• Trust in the system
• Fear of social retaliation
• Rumors that circulate about survivor
• Knowing the perpetrator as a friend/family/unit member
Understanding our role in Survivor Support
• What we do and say on a daily basis can help or hurt a
survivor.
• We need to understand these issues in order to put our
own personal feelings aside and respond appropriately to
those affected.
• When we understand how survivors are affected, we can
better empathize to identify challenges they may
encounter while at the Academy and serving in the Fleet.
• When we understand how survivors are affected, we can
better understand how our leadership decisions impact
them and affect the climate in which they serve.