FORT CARSON, Colo. -- The "bystander" logic of social theorist Dr. Jackson Katz, states men and women at all levels in American society can do things to reduce gender violence before the "point of attack" from a man to a woman.
Katz, an internationally-known expert on the topic, spoke to about 250 people Sept. 18. Army Community Service used the presentation to begin a series of events intended to draw attention to the problem of domestic violence in military communities. October is recognized as Domestic Violence Month.
"It's not about a superhero rescue," Katz said as he walked to his chart board on the stage in McMahon Auditorium. "Imagine this triangle I just drew as a pyramid. Imagine the tip of the pyramid as the sexual assault incident. Now think about the base of the pyramid, (how it represents) attitudes, beliefs and recent behaviors toward women in our culture.
"This base is what provides the foundation or cultural context for the abusive behavior represented at the tip. This is what we want to change. The idea of the 'bystander approach' is to focus on ways that we, as men and women, can challenge each other and interrupt, that it is OK to do these things and think this way."
Katz used this bystander approach in co-founding Mentors in Violence Prevention while working with military and civilian communities to reduce violence.
"We have worked to try to figure out ways we can get men and women who are not directly involved in a situation to speak up, challenge or interrupt before, during and after the attack," he said, speaking of his efforts the last 20 years in both the military and sports culture. "But not remain silent."
Domestic and sexual violence are not "silo" issues, but rather relate to numerous other social problems in civilian and military communities, according to Katz. He listed three immediate impacts: alcohol and substance abuse by victims to escape or self-medicate from the effects of the abuse; untreated depression among men who are the perpetrators of the abuse; and children who are adversely affected as witnesses during their developmental years.
Katz acknowledged that not all domestic and sexual violence cases have men as the aggressor, but it is largely men as the perpetrator.
"We need more men to stand up and say, 'This is messed up, we can do better than this,'" he said. "A lot of guys will say, related to these issues, 'I don't abuse women, it's not my problem' or 'I don't rape women, it's not my issue.' But who is going to say they don't have a friend, teammate, squad member, co-worker, colleague (or) Family member who is a female?"
The challenge is difficult in the military context for male Soldiers to work in a "tough" disciplined environment where there is a strict chain of command to transition to an environment where they need to be more "intimate" with their loved ones.
"Life is short," he said. "Isn't it? I hear about this violence all the time. It's so frustrating -- the violence, abuse and tragedy that happens over and over. All the sadness in our lives because of it. Can't we do better than this?
"If you are in the motor pool just among guys when someone says something demeaning about women and you don't say anything, your silence is consent. This is what helps build the foundational culture that says it is OK to think this way about women. The bystander approach is meant to get men to think about our responsibilities to each other -- men and women."
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