>> Bystander approaches engage individuals
in preventing sexual violence by promoting social norms
that are positive in their communities.
When people are trained in bystander intervention,
that means that they learn the skills that they need to be able
to intervene in situations that are potentially harmful.
>> My name is Brenna Merrill,
and I coordinate the Make Your Move Council here
in Missoula, Montana.
Make Your Move is a council
of violence-prevention agencies here in Missoula
that are really focused on preventing sexual violence.
Specifically, we're looking at sexual harassment is something
that can be stopped when we create a community culture
that doesn't allow for sexual harassment to happen.
Different agency members came together
and created this council to really figure out ways that we,
as a community, as a whole, could work on this issue.
We started a bystander intervention campaign
that went alongside a bartender bystander intervention workshop.
We got additional funding to revamp that bar workshop
and make it really Missoula-focused
and kind of Missoula-owned.
Bystander intervention is very much like an academic
or jargon-y term, but really what it means is
that people are sticking up for one another.
When they see something, they are responding, they're checking
in and make sure that people are feeling safe, comfortable,
and providing any additional help, if help is needed.
When people are looking out for one another,
it creates a culture where it becomes apparent
that sexual harassment isn't acceptable.
>> The downtown area is pretty tight-knit.
From one bar to another, they each have their own flavor,
but the cause is the same.
We want to make sure that our clients are safe,
and they feel safe and they don't feel threatened.
>> Working with bartenders and bar owners
to create an environment that is free
from sexual harassment is really powerful,
because bartenders have the authority
in their establishment.
>> The Make Your Move program gives my staff more confidence
in identifying and interjecting and saying to somebody, "Hey,
man, that's inappropriate."
>> Everyone has a place in sexual violence prevention.
Everyone can get involved, whether
or not you are a paid professional or a bartender
or kind of a general community member.
There are places where we all can be kind
of addressing the systems that allow for sexual harassment
and sexual assaults to take place.
>> Bystander approaches are really changing the way
that people can step in and stop those behaviors,
so that we're having, you know, those positive social norms
that we're looking for.
>> While Make Your Move has not yet been rigorously evaluated,
other adaptations of bystander interventions
for bar staff have been evaluated and found
to decrease rape myths
and to increase positive bystander behavior,
like stepping in to help or speaking up.
Other types of bystander approaches also have
substantially decreased sexual violence, victimization,
and perpetration, including sexual harassment and stalking.
Bystander programs are promising prevention approaches featured
in CDC's technical packages to prevent sexual violence
and intimate partner violence.
Use CDC's technical packages
to prevent violence in your community.