To start this section, please watch this 7-minute video from Buddle, which speaks about why being an active bystander is important.

How to intervene safely:

When it comes to intervening safely, remember the five D's- direct, distract, delegate, delay and document. 

Distract- The aim is simply to derail the incident by interrupting it. 

• Ignore the person who is harassing, and engage directly with the person who is being harassed.
• You can also engage with, and try to distract the person who is perpetrating the harassment.
• Avoid referring to the harassment that is happening if you feel this would cause either person further harm, instead talk about something completely unrelated. 

Example: Ask a random question or redirect attention to something else. 

Delegate- asking a third part for help with intervening.

• Look for a person who is ready and willing to help. A fellow bystander might be a good choice. You might need someone else's help because you might not be confident intervening or the person might be physically aggressive, amongst many other things.
• When delegating, try to tell them as clearly as possible what you're witnessing and how you'd like them to help.

Tip: Within sports settings, your delegate could be someone who has authority in the space; a coach, a leisure centre member of staff, or the Club Welfare Officer. 

Document- involves recording or taking notes on an instance of harassment.  

• Before documenting a harmful incident, make sure the person being targeted is already receiving help, otherwise recording could cause more harm.
• Always ask the person who was harassed what they want to do with the recording and/or notes.

Tip: Never share or post footage of someone being harassed without their consent, it can deepen their trauma, take away their control, and expose them to unwanted legal or public attention.

Remember: If the person is under the age of 18, or if they're at immediate risk of harm to themselves or others, you don't need the persons permission to act.

Delay- Many types of harassment happen in passing or very quickly and its not always possible to intervene. 

• Delaying doesn’t mean we do nothing.
• Even if we can't act in the moment, we can still make a difference for someone who's been harassed by checking in on them after. 
• You can still report what you witnessed days, weeks, months, or even years later. 

Example: Ask them if they’re okay, and let them know you saw what happened and it wasn’t okay.

Remember: As a volunteer in a sports club, it's not your responsibility to fix everyone's problems. What you can do is support people with signposting to organisations who can help. Your NGB can also help with this.

Direct- sometimes, we may want to respond direct to harassment by confronting the person doing harm. 

• Use this with caution, because direct intervention can be risky. The person harassing may redirect their abuse towards the intervening bystander, or may escalate the situation in another way.

• The first key to direct intervention is to assess the situation before you decide to respond, by asking yourself the following questions:

  1. Are you physically safe? 

  2. Is the person being harassed physically safe? 

  3. Does it seem unlikely that the situation will escalate? 

  4. Can you tell if the person being harassed wants someone to speak up?

  If you can answer yes to all of these questions, you might choose a direct response. 

• The second key to Direct intervention is to keep it short and succinct. As tempting as it may be, avoid engaging in dialogue, debate, or an argument – since this is how situations can escalate.

Example: “That’s inappropriate,” “That’s homophobic,” “That’s disrespectful,” “That’s racist,” “That’s not okay,” “That’s harassment,” etc.