{"id":30324,"date":"2026-03-16T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T02:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/?post_type=oasis-news&#038;p=30324"},"modified":"2026-02-17T14:56:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T06:56:46","slug":"how-to-be-an-active-bystander","status":"publish","type":"oasis-news","link":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/oasis-news\/how-to-be-an-active-bystander\/","title":{"rendered":"How to be an active bystander"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>Reading time: 4 minutes<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Gender-based violence&nbsp;doesn\u2019t&nbsp;always look extreme or obvious. On campus, it can show up in everyday moments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Someone in your class is making a joke that goes too far<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Someone being pressured or intimidated<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Any behaviour that makes another person feel unsafe or disrespected<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And when gender-based violence&nbsp;isn\u2019t&nbsp;always physical or obvious, it can be hard to know when (or how) to step in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even when we know a situation is wrong,&nbsp;taking action&nbsp;can feel hard. A lot of the time,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;easier just not to get involved and think&nbsp;<em>\u201cmaybe someone else will do something\u201d<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The problem is that <strong>most people are thinking the same thing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When everyone waits for someone else to do something, no one acts.&nbsp;That\u2019s&nbsp;where\u202f<strong>bystander&nbsp;intervention<\/strong>\u202fcomes in. Preventing gender-based violence is something we can all play a role in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-lg-font-size\"><strong>What is a&nbsp;bystander?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A&nbsp;bystander&nbsp;is anyone who sees or has become aware of harmful, unsafe, or disrespectful behaviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;need to be 100% certain that something is \u2018serious enough\u2019 for you to act. If you feel any discomfort &#8211;&nbsp;that\u2019s&nbsp;usually a sign that something is wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-lg-font-size\"><strong>What can I do to help?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Firstly,&nbsp;it\u2019s&nbsp;important to realise a few things:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>There is no \u2018right\u2019 way to intervene<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Your safety should come first &#8211;\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0step in if\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0not safe<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Stepping in\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0have to be complicated or risky<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Small actions can still make a\u202f<strong>big<\/strong>\u202fdifference<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>There are 5 different methods you can use when choosing to call out disrespectful behaviour and be an active bystander:&nbsp;<em>Distract, Delegate, Document, Delay, and Direct.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Choose whichever method feels safest and&nbsp;appropriate for&nbsp;you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Distract:<\/strong> Engage directly with the person who is being harassed and talk to them about something completely unrelated to the harassment. Ignore the harasser. <em>Best used when:&nbsp;you\u2019re&nbsp;unsure what the reaction might be if you directly intervened.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Starting a different conversation or changing the subject &#8211; \u201cclass starts in 5\u00a0minutes,\u00a0we should probably head\u00a0off \u201d<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Asking a random question<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Use light humour to interrupt the behaviour\/take the focus off it<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Delegate:<\/strong> Ask someone nearby, who could have authority in the space, to help you intervene. Tell them clearly what you\u2019d like them to do. <em>Best used when: you don\u2019t feel safe or sure of how to handle the situation on your own.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Reporting it to Safer Community<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Telling a lecturer, unit coordinator, or tutor<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Asking a friend or trusted person for advice<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Asking someone nearby for help<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Document:<\/strong> Record or take notes, but only if someone is already helping the person being harassed. Always ask the person what they want to do with your documentation. <em>Best used when: you\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0safely step in, but evidence could help later.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Note the time and place the incident occurred<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Note what was said or done, and who was there<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Saving messages or screenshots<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Take a photo\/video if\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0safe and legal<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ask the person what they want done with this information (only share with their consent)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Delay:<\/strong>\u202fEven after harassment, you can help someone by checking in on them, asking if they\u2019re okay, or if there\u2019s anything you can do to support them. <em>Best used when: you feel uncomfortable intervening at the time.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Checking in with the person afterwards, asking if\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0okay<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helping the person access support or reporting options<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Direct:<\/strong>\u202fAfter assessing your safety and ensuring you are not going to escalate the incident, respond directly by naming the inappropriate behavior and confronting the person doing harm. <em>Best used when: you feel safe, can stay calm, and\u00a0there\u2019s\u00a0a low risk\u00a0the person will escalate or turn on you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This can look like saying \u201cThat\u2019s not okay\u201d or \u201cThey said no, leave it at that\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-lg-font-size\"><strong>Reporting to Safer Community<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you have&nbsp;witnessed&nbsp;something on campus and are not sure what to do about it, or&nbsp;don\u2019t&nbsp;feel comfortable stepping in at the time, you can always report the incident to Safer Community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can report an incident\/concern to Safer Community:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/properties.curtin.edu.au\/campus-safety\/report-incident-concern\/\">Report it online<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Report the incident via <a href=\"https:\/\/safezoneapp.com\/\">the SafeZone app<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Call the Safer Community Team on <a href=\"https:\/\/curtin.sharepoint.com\/sites\/StudentExperience-BusinessOperations\/Shared%20Documents\/Digital%20Student%20Engagement\/Channel%20Plans\/2025\/Sexual%20Harm%20-%20Report%20and%20Support\/1.%20Channel%20Plans\/+6189266%204444\">(08) 9266 4444.<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Dial 000 in an emergency<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also learn about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/students\/personal-support\/respectful-relationships\/after-you-report\/\">what happens next after submitting a report<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Everyone deserves to feel safe and respected \u2013 on and off campus. When we notice harm and choose to act, even in small ways, we help set the standard for&nbsp;what\u2019s&nbsp;acceptable (and what\u2019s not acceptable) at Curtin.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Gender-based violence\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0always look extreme or obvious. On campus, it can show up in everyday moments. | Reading time: 4 mins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4412,"featured_media":30327,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"7097,5397,4566,4589,7850,5460","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","wds_primary_oasis-categories":0,"footnotes":""},"oasis-categories":[149],"class_list":["post-30324","oasis-news","type-oasis-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","oasis-categories-wellbeing"],"acf":{"post_options":{"":null,"banner":{"image":false}}},"featured_image":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/respect-1920x1080-1-1920x500.jpg","author_meta":{"first_name":"Louis","last_name":"Humberstone","display_name":"Louis Humberstone"},"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-13 12:04:13","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"oasis-categories","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news\/30324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/oasis-news"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4412"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-news\/30324\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"oasis-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.curtin.edu.au\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/oasis-categories?post=30324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}