“I Can't Fully Explain It, but Something Just Feels Off”: A Qualitative Study of Danish Students' Bystander Perceptions of Sexual Violence Risk

This study explores how Danish upper secondary students, when positioned as bystanders, evaluate risk in situations involving or potentially escalating into sexual harassment or violence. Drawing on psychological risk perception literature, we focus on the cognitive, emotional, and contextual factors that shape young bystanders' recognition and interpretations of risk. Three semi-structured and mixed-gender focus group interviews (N = 15) were conducted with students in their first to third years of high school. A participatory card-based activity was used to elicit discussion of various scenarios involving sexually risky behaviors. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, guided by a hybrid approach combining deductive and inductive coding. The analysis identified three deductively derived themes: (1) Reading the room: interpreting risk through observable cues; (2) Emotions as signals to risk; and (3) Navigating risk between knowing and assuming. In addition, Alcohol as a cross-cutting influence was identified as an overarching inductive theme. Participants struggled to recognize sexual violence risk in the absence of clear contextual cues, often relying on heuristics, cultural norms, or emotional discomfort as interpretive tools. Ambiguous and alcohol-fueled settings further complicated risk appraisal. Overall, bystander risk perception appeared as a dynamic and situated process shaped by overlapping cognitive, emotional, and contextual dimensions. Supporting young people's bystander intervention in situations involving sexual violence risk may therefore require more than skills training alone, including fostering critical reflection on social norms, emotional cues, and intuitive judgments. Psychological risk perception frameworks may provide a useful lens for further understanding early-stage bystander decision-making in sexual violence prevention.