Experience of being a bystander to violence in Wales: a cross-sectional study exploring public bystander experience and confidence and skills to intervene

Background Increasingly, there has been a focus on challenging harmful social norms that support violence by encouraging the public to act as prosocial bystanders. However, there is limited evidence on how many people witness violence, their perceived confidence and skills to respond, or willingness to attend bystander intervention training. Methods A national cross-sectional survey was conducted with individuals aged 16 years and over resident in Wales, UK, (June-July 2023) as part of a broader panel survey. Sampling used a multi-method approach (telephone, online, and face-to-face), stratified by NHS health board area, age, sex, deprivation, and ethnicity. 1,027 participants were asked if they had witnessed seven different types of violence in the past year, their confidence and skills in responding to these violence types, and willingness to attend face-to-face bystander training. Results Over a third (36.6%) had witnessed any violence in the past year, with exposure varying by violence type; from 4.0% witnessing sexual violence towards females to 23.5% observing verbal aggression between children and young people. Exposure had mixed relationships with participant demographics. Around a third reported having the confidence and skills to intervene as a bystander for each violence type measured. Age was associated with confidence and skills in responding to all violence types except verbal aggression between children and young people. Confidence in responding to verbal aggression and physical violence among children and young people was higher among those exposed to it in the previous year. 66.5% reported that they were likely or very likely to attend face-to-face bystander training if offered it, with odds of attending increased among those who had witnessed any violence (AOR 1.5, CIs 1.1-2.0, p = 0.010), sexual harassment towards females (AOR 1.7, CIs1.1-2.7, p = 0.025) and domestic abuse (AOR 2.2, CIs1.2-4.1, p = 0.013) in the past year. Conclusions Findings highlight a large burden of violence that bystanders could potentially influence if trained to respond in a positive way. The development of bystander intervention programmes should consider tailoring these by age, setting, and violence type. Further work is needed to boost the public’s skills and confidence as prosocial bystanders, particularly as many are willing to attend training.