> Skip to content
FEATURED:
  • The Evolution of Race in Admissions
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
  • News
  • Advice
  • The Review
  • Data
  • Current Issue
  • Virtual Events
  • Store
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
    • Featured Products
    • Reports
    • Data
    • Collections
    • Back Issues
  • Jobs
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
    • Find a Job
    • Post a Job
    • Career Resources
Sign In
ADVERTISEMENT
News
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Show more sharing options
Share
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Email
  • Copy Link URLCopied!
  • Print

One University Prepares Students to Intervene

February 29, 2016
The U. of New Hampshire’s “Know Your Power” campaign is designed to reduce sexual violence. It suggests language that students can use to intervene in risky situations, like a party where people are drinking heavily.
U. of New Hampshire
The U. of New Hampshire’s “Know Your Power” campaign is designed to reduce sexual violence. It suggests language that students can use to intervene in risky situations, like a party where people are drinking heavily.

The University of New Hampshire’s campaign to prevent sex assault is based on two programs: “Bringing in the Bystander” was developed in 2002 as an in-person training program that the university’s Prevention Innovations Research Center sells to colleges. The program teaches people to safely intervene when a situation looks as if it could become dangerous, and it is aimed at increasing their willingness to do so.

The other program, “Know Your Power,” is a newer social-marketing effort that uses 26 images depicting real-life scenarios to promote bystander behaviors.

We’re sorry. Something went wrong.

We are unable to fully display the content of this page.

The most likely cause of this is a content blocker on your computer or network. Please make sure your computer, VPN, or network allows javascript and allows content to be delivered from c950.chronicle.com and chronicle.blueconic.net.

Once javascript and access to those URLs are allowed, please refresh this page. You may then be asked to log in, create an account if you don't already have one, or subscribe.

If you continue to experience issues, contact us at 202-466-1032 or help@chronicle.com

The University of New Hampshire’s campaign to prevent sex assault is based on two programs: “Bringing in the Bystander” was developed in 2002 as an in-person training program that the university’s Prevention Innovations Research Center sells to colleges. The program teaches people to safely intervene when a situation looks as if it could become dangerous, and it is aimed at increasing their willingness to do so.

The other program, “Know Your Power,” is a newer social-marketing effort that uses 26 images depicting real-life scenarios to promote bystander behaviors.

New Hampshire’s is thought to be the nation’s only research center working to develop prevention strategies based on a scholarly evaluation of what’s effective, says Jane Stapleton, co-director of the center. “We’re developing evidence-based prevention,” she says. So far the center has worked with nearly 450 other colleges.

“Know Your Power” images can be tailored to depict the ethnic composition of the student population on individual campuses and to show specific ways students party at different institutions — in private homes or garages, for example, or with red Solo cups or beer cans. The images even use the names that students call drinking games on particular campuses. A poster at New Hampshire, for example, refers to beer pong as “Beirut.”

“The more students see themselves in the images, the higher the effectiveness,” says Ms. Stapleton. The images often are made into screen savers, posters, stickers, and bookmarks. “We have collected anecdotal information from students who said, ‘I was at a party, I saw a friend who was intoxicated and she was led upstairs by a guy she didn’t know. I wasn’t sure what to do, but then I remembered seeing the image on the back of a bathroom stall.’ "

ADVERTISEMENT

While New Hampshire has published scholarly papers showing that students recall the images, the research doesn’t specify the extent to which that finding may actually have led to a reduction in sexual assault on campuses. The use of bystander intervention is so new, says Mr. Stapleton, that such studies have not yet been designed.

Robin Wilson writes about campus culture, including sexual assault and sexual harassment. Contact her at robin.wilson@chronicle.com.

A version of this article appeared in the March 4, 2016, issue.
Read other items in this The Trends Report: 10 Key Shifts in Higher Education package.
We welcome your thoughts and questions about this article. Please email the editors or submit a letter for publication.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Related Content

  • Culture of Consent
  • For Assault Victims, Help Is Never Too Late
  • Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
    Explore
    • Get Newsletters
    • Letters
    • Free Reports and Guides
    • Blogs
    • Virtual Events
    • Chronicle Store
    • Find a Job
  • The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
    The Chronicle
    • About Us
    • DEI Commitment Statement
    • Write for Us
    • Talk to Us
    • Work at The Chronicle
    • User Agreement
    • Privacy Policy
    • California Privacy Policy
    • Site Map
    • Accessibility Statement
  • Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
    Customer Assistance
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise With Us
    • Post a Job
    • Advertising Terms and Conditions
    • Reprints & Permissions
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information
  • Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
    Subscribe
    • Individual Subscriptions
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • Subscription & Account FAQ
    • Manage Newsletters
    • Manage Your Account
1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037
© 2023 The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • twitter
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • facebook
  • linkedin