Limited Evidence that the Gender Composition of Public Conflicts is Associated with Bystander Intervention: A Video-Observational Study
Year: 2024
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objectives: Research suggests that the gender composition of conflict parties influences how bystanders perceive violent encounters, reflecting how constructions of masculinity and femininity promote the protection of women. As few studies have assessed the ecological validity of this association, we rely on real-life data to examine the association between gender composition and bystander intervention in naturally occurring conflicts in public space. Methods: We analyzed CCTV footage of 66 public conflicts with various gender compositions in the inner city of Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We ran logistic regression models at the situational level (N = 66 conflicts) as well as a two-level multilevel model at the individual level (N = 1,954 bystanders) to examine the relationship between conflict parties’ gender composition and bystander intervention. Further, we tested whether a perceived intimate relationship between conflict parties was associated with bystander intervention. Results: We found support for the equivalence of bystander intervention across conflicts, as the gender composition of conflict parties was not linked with intervention probability of bystanders. Further, while patterns in the sample point towards less intervention in conflicts between intimate partners, this was not statistically clear.Conclusions: Our results emphasize the importance of understanding variation in conflict contexts for bystander intervention.
Source: Crime & Delinquency
Language: English
Subfield: Health
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4404420217