Michigan State University Developing a Bystander Intervention Network to Reduce Sexual Assaults

Michigan State University is establishing a new bystander intervention network in an effort to reduce the number of incidents of sexual assault on campus. The network will involve enlisting the support of employees in bars near the East Lansing campus as well as area taxi drivers.

Andrea Beasinger, a detective with the Michigan State University Police Department, stated that “we need to teach and empower people to intervene when they have the opportunity to prevent sexual assault.” Detective Beasinger notes that because of their job and their interaction with students, bar employees and taxi drivers are often in a position to intervene before an assault takes place.

Using money from a state grant, the university will offer training for bar employees and taxi drivers that will provide them with the tools and skills necessary to intervene when they suspect that a sexual assault may occur.