Postdigital Bystanding: Youth Experiences of Sexual Violence Workshops in Schools in England, Ireland, and Canada
In this paper, we report on creative- and arts-based sexual violence and bystander intervention workshops we developed and researched in England, Ireland, and Canada, through evaluation surveys, observations, and focus group interviews with nearly 1200 young people (aged 13–18). Whist the young peop...
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Behavioral Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/1/81 |
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| author | Jessica Ringrose Debbie Ging Faye Mishna Betsy Milne Tanya Horeck Kaitlynn Mendes |
| author_facet | Jessica Ringrose Debbie Ging Faye Mishna Betsy Milne Tanya Horeck Kaitlynn Mendes |
| author_sort | Jessica Ringrose |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In this paper, we report on creative- and arts-based sexual violence and bystander intervention workshops we developed and researched in England, Ireland, and Canada, through evaluation surveys, observations, and focus group interviews with nearly 1200 young people (aged 13–18). Whist the young people generally reported benefitting from the intervention, in the context of increasing use of digital technologies amongst youth, we explore the context-specific challenges they faced in learning about and being supported through bystander strategies across a wide range of diverse school spaces. We use the term postdigital bystanding to explicitly explore how teen’s digital networks are often connected to the school-based ‘real life’ peer group, in ways that complicate clear distinctions between online and offline, arguing that these postdigital dynamics have not yet been adequately considered in bystanding interventions. We analyse how the intersectional community, cultural, and identity-specific factors in particular schooling environments shape responses to bystanding in postdigital environments, including how factors of sexism, defensive masculinity, elitism, racism, and a reluctance to report digital issues played out in the responses to the workshops. Finally, following young people’s suggestions, we recommend that schools need to cultivate better safety and support strategies for youth in order to make postdigital bystander interventions more responsive and therefore effective in challenging and preventing sexual violence in society. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-99999ddd74454b88850a6ebf9af6d584 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-328X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Behavioral Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-99999ddd74454b88850a6ebf9af6d5842025-01-24T13:22:51ZengMDPI AGBehavioral Sciences2076-328X2025-01-011518110.3390/bs15010081Postdigital Bystanding: Youth Experiences of Sexual Violence Workshops in Schools in England, Ireland, and CanadaJessica Ringrose0Debbie Ging1Faye Mishna2Betsy Milne3Tanya Horeck4Kaitlynn Mendes5IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, University College London, London WC1H 0AL, UKSchool of Communications, Dublin City University, D09 E432 Dublin, IrelandDepartment of Social Work, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A1, CanadaCentre of Multidisciplinary and Intercultural Inquiry, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UKCambridge School of Creative Industries, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge CB1 1PT, UKDepartment of Sociology, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, CanadaIn this paper, we report on creative- and arts-based sexual violence and bystander intervention workshops we developed and researched in England, Ireland, and Canada, through evaluation surveys, observations, and focus group interviews with nearly 1200 young people (aged 13–18). Whist the young people generally reported benefitting from the intervention, in the context of increasing use of digital technologies amongst youth, we explore the context-specific challenges they faced in learning about and being supported through bystander strategies across a wide range of diverse school spaces. We use the term postdigital bystanding to explicitly explore how teen’s digital networks are often connected to the school-based ‘real life’ peer group, in ways that complicate clear distinctions between online and offline, arguing that these postdigital dynamics have not yet been adequately considered in bystanding interventions. We analyse how the intersectional community, cultural, and identity-specific factors in particular schooling environments shape responses to bystanding in postdigital environments, including how factors of sexism, defensive masculinity, elitism, racism, and a reluctance to report digital issues played out in the responses to the workshops. Finally, following young people’s suggestions, we recommend that schools need to cultivate better safety and support strategies for youth in order to make postdigital bystander interventions more responsive and therefore effective in challenging and preventing sexual violence in society.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/1/81bystandingpostdigitalschoolsexual violenceintersectionalitydefensive masculinity |
| spellingShingle | Jessica Ringrose Debbie Ging Faye Mishna Betsy Milne Tanya Horeck Kaitlynn Mendes Postdigital Bystanding: Youth Experiences of Sexual Violence Workshops in Schools in England, Ireland, and Canada Behavioral Sciences bystanding postdigital school sexual violence intersectionality defensive masculinity |
| title | Postdigital Bystanding: Youth Experiences of Sexual Violence Workshops in Schools in England, Ireland, and Canada |
| title_full | Postdigital Bystanding: Youth Experiences of Sexual Violence Workshops in Schools in England, Ireland, and Canada |
| title_fullStr | Postdigital Bystanding: Youth Experiences of Sexual Violence Workshops in Schools in England, Ireland, and Canada |
| title_full_unstemmed | Postdigital Bystanding: Youth Experiences of Sexual Violence Workshops in Schools in England, Ireland, and Canada |
| title_short | Postdigital Bystanding: Youth Experiences of Sexual Violence Workshops in Schools in England, Ireland, and Canada |
| title_sort | postdigital bystanding youth experiences of sexual violence workshops in schools in england ireland and canada |
| topic | bystanding postdigital school sexual violence intersectionality defensive masculinity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/15/1/81 |
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