Individual and Contextual Facilitators and Barriers of Bystander Intervention Intent in Image-Based Sexual Abuse Contexts

Image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) encompasses the taking, sharing, and/or making threats to share nude or sexual images of others without consent. Many individuals witness or become aware of someone perpetrating IBSA, but most bystanders do not intervene. There is currently little understanding of why bystanders are apathetic, and this article aims to address this gap by identifying individual and contextual facilitators and barriers of willingness to intervene in these contexts. Three correlational studies were conducted, measuring a series of individual and contextual variables and willingness to intervene in cases involving the taking of images without consent (Study 1; n = 134); sharing images without consent (Study 2; n = 133); and threatening to share images (Study 3; n = 132). Purposeful selection regression model building was used to analyse the data. The final model in Study 1 explained 57.3% of variance, with five unique predictors of willingness to intervene: being female, greater feelings of responsibility, greater confidence to intervene, more positive social norms towards intervention, and greater empathic concern. In Study 2, the final model explained 65.6% of variance, with three unique predictors: greater feelings of responsibility, more positive social norms towards intervention, and less IBSA victimisation experiences. Lastly, the final model in Study 3 explained 57.8% of variance, with three unique predictors: greater feelings of responsibility, greater confidence to intervene, and more positive social norms towards intervention. These findings have important implications for agendas which aim to encourage bystander intervention in IBSA contexts and ultimately prevent and minimise harm to victims.