How-to-guide: Be an active Bystander
Help create a safe environment
We all have a responsibility to create a safe environment, but we often don’t know what to do when faced with a situation that may compromise our own safety. When we intervene, we don’t just minimize the impact on the person being harmed, we also start to shift the culture towards one that prioritizes respectful sport experiences that are safe for everyone.
Five things you can do as active bystander
We work with Right to Be to offer resources and training to help you feel confident in these situations. They have developed the “5Ds of Bystander Intervention” to empower people to act, while staying safe.
The first four of these approaches can be done without anyone else realizing, giving you ways of helping without putting yourself at risk.
1. Distract
Take an indirect approach to de-escalate the situation.
2. Delay
After the incident, check in with the person who may have been harmed.
3. Delegate
Get help from someone else.
4. Direct
When safe, speak up. Be firm and clear.
5. Document
Write down what happened, or record the incident on video where appropriate.
Take our free online training
We offer a short, free online training course about how to use the 5Ds approach to being an active bystander, developed by Right to Be.
100%
100% of people surveyed after doing this training felt there was at least one thing they could do if they witnessed maltreatment.
90%
90% felt confident that they would intervene.
Are you a Certified Coach with the Coaching Association of Canada? You can earn 2 Continuing Education Credits (NCCP Points) by completing this training.
