ABOUT B2U
The B2U® program provides a sustainable way (via a train-the-trainer component) for everyone to learn upstander intervention techniques to prevent dangerous behaviors such as sexual violence, racism, sexism, and heterosexism, as well as practice upstander intervention skills to take positive action when faced with injustice and intolerance.​
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B2U Outcomes
Unlike most campus-based programs that target students, B2U was designed to address the entire campus community, including faculty and staff, based on the CDC’s social-ecological model of prevention.
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The success of B2U at TCU has led to its expansion beyond university settings, making it a valuable resource for workplaces seeking to promote upstander behavior and cultural transformation.
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Program Goals
Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® Workshop
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Learn how to identify moments of injustice or intolerance
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Gain confidence in addressing moments of injustice or intolerance​
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Use engagement and conversational tactics to de-escalate harmful situation​
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Take the most appropriate and effective action to stand up to injustice or intolerance
Program Goals
Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® Train-the-Trainer Workshop
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Learn to effectively facilitate the Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® workshop​
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Customize the Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® workshop to meet the needs of the target group​
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Gain confidence in addressing potential issues that may arise during the workshop facilitation​
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Connect with other Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® trainers
Upstander Approach
A bystander is a person who is present at an event or incident but does not take part. In contrast, an upstander is a person who has chosen to make a difference in the world by speaking out against injustice and creating positive change. The term "upstander" was coined by diplomat Samantha Power and was recognized as an official word in the English language in 2016.
Prior to 2016 when the term "upstander" was recognized as an official word in the English language, the "bystander approach" described an intervention and prevention model which frames violence as a community issue and focuses both on increasing community members’ receptivity to prevention messages and training and supporting upstander behaviors. In research studies conducted prior to 2016, the term "bystander" is often used to refer to behaviors that we would now consider upstander behaviors.
The upstander approach is unique in that it does not solely target victims or perpetrators of violence; rather, it calls upon all community members to work together to enhance efforts to change broader group and community norms around sexual violence. The upstander model targets all community members as potential upstanders and seeks to engage them in creating solutions. This model could be used to address and prevent gender-based violence as well as other oppressive behaviors. This coincides with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) public health approach of community responsibility to reduce sexual violence and other oppressive behaviors. Currently, most campus-based upstander intervention programs target students, which are a critical population to target. However, according to the CDC’s social-ecological model of prevention, for upstander intervention to truly be effective it must address the entire campus community, which includes faculty and staff members. Universities have continued to develop and implement initiatives to address gender-based violence and other oppressive behaviors on campus and have recently turned their focus on working to engage faculty and staff in these initiatives. This prevention approach can also be applied to adults in workplace settings as well.
Workshops
Developed through an intersectional lens, the Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® (B2U®) program aims to provide a sustainable way (via a train-the-trainer component) for everyone to learn and apply trauma-informed upstander intervention techniques to prevent moments of injustice, such as sexual violence, racism, sexism, and heterosexism, as well as practice upstander intervention skills to take positive action when faced with injustice and intolerance.
The Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® program includes two workshops:
· Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® workshop
· Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® Train-the-Trainer workshop
The first workshop, Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture®, teaches participants the knowledge and skills to transform from bystanders to upstanders to take positive action in the face of injustice or intolerance. The second workshop, Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® Train-the-Trainer workshop, teaches individuals who have already attended the first workshop, Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture®, how to facilitate the Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® workshop with other colleagues. Participants who attend the Train-the-Trainer workshop will join a collaborative team of trainers who work together to build communities that support difference and unify against intolerance.
Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® Train-the-Trainer workshop
Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® Train-the-Trainer workshop, teaches individuals who have already attended the first workshop, Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture®, how to facilitate the Bystander to Upstander: Transforming Culture® workshop with other colleagues. Participants who attend the Train-the-Trainer workshop will join a collaborative team of trainers who work together to build communities that support difference and unify against intolerance.
B2U PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK
B2U PARTICIPANT FEEDBACK
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I learned the importance of being an upstander and what difference it can make in de-escalating situations.
I will be more deliberate about intervening to model for students.
It was a good reminder that taking action to challenge harmful language can have an impact on moving social norms in the right direction.
I feel more prepared to handle potential situations in the future.
I feel more confident to speak up when necessary.
I will encourage colleagues to address situations needing intervention as well.
B2U TRAINED FACULTY FACILITATOR THOUGHTS
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It makes me think about my own language and the way that I talk with my colleagues. It makes me reevaluate the way that I talk and how that fits into this goal of creating a better culture.
It has reminded me that it is my business, it is my obligation, it is a part of my job and my duty as a human being and as a professor and as a part of this community to intervene.
By understanding that we can intervene in a non-threatening way, but simply intervene in a way that is effective, that we can think through our behaviors and hopefully change how the community functions.
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It makes me think about my own language and the way that I talk with my colleagues. It makes me reevaluate the way that I talk and how that fits into this goal of creating a better culture.
It has reminded me that it is my business, it is my obligation, it is a part of my job and my duty as a human being and as a professor and as a part of this community to intervene.
By understanding that we can intervene in a non-threatening way, but simply intervene in a way that is effective, that we can think through our behaviors and hopefully change how the community functions.
I feel that this upstander work allows for more visibility on campus, both in terms of this work and my role in culture-bearer and culture-sharer and a culture-changer. So, I put out this information and it is reflected back at me and so I'm able to see what needs to be nuanced in terms of my delivery and my leadership.
I'm thinking about gender and gender politics and gender roles. So, I think in terms of my role in changing the culture around sexual violence, it's a conversation about gender and what it actually means to be a man, and the ways in which we are programmed to be and act.
I think that's a responsibility that all of us needs to take more seriously, to be fighting the toxic masculinity that's intrinsic in rape culture.
B2U MEDIA
B2U Workshops Empower Participants to Stand Up Against Intolerance
Expanded and renamed, the “Bystander to Upstander” workshop empowers participants to transform bystanders into upstanders to build communities that support difference and unify against intolerance. Participants will learn how to identify sexual violence, racism and sexism.
Steps for Bystander Intervention -
Summer 2019
Nada Elias-Lambert, a social work scholar, studies how to train faculty to recognize risky behavior and speak up. She wants to prevent another tragedy like what reportedly happened to Kitty Genovese more than 50 years ago. The 28-year-old woman’s murder in New York City prompted social work researchers to ask why none of the almost 40 witnesses intervened.
Ready for A Fight - Spring 2018
Nada Elias-Lambert, assistant professor of social work and director of TCU’s Master of Social Work program, studies how best to train faculty to become effective bystanders who are prepared to intervene in violent situations. Her research focuses on methods of improving intervention training for faculty and understanding why her colleagues in academia want to learn these skills.
Who do we call for more information?
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Please reach out via the Contact page or email Dr. Elias-Lambert at n.eliaslambert@tcu.edu and include any relevant information and the reason for contacting B2U. Please also include your contact information so we may reach out to you
How can I bring the B2U program to my university or organization?
Reach out to Dr. Elias-Lambert at n.eliaslambert@tcu.edu and she will work with you to develop a program that meets the needs of your university or organization. The B2U program can be facilitated virtually or in-person. Dr. Elias-Lambert will work with you to develop a program that will allow for the most effective implementation of the B2U curriculum within your university or organization.
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