Presented by Jackson Katz, PhD Penn State: Did It Have To Happen? Violence, Silence and the Power of Conformity Jewish Women International’s National Alliance to End Domestic Abuse December 15, 2011 Presented by Jackson Katz, PhD

Penn State as a landmark case/spur to action Breaking silence about male victims Age and gender of victims Supporting survivors Lessons learned: Syracuse University

Penn State as the mother of all teachable moments for the bystander approach Incidents of sexual abuse witnessed by people in a position to intervene and did not Pressures on people (men) in various peer cultures to remain silent The failure of institutional leaders to act, resulting in disastrous consequences All of this taking place in one of the bastions of male power and privilege -- the Penn State University football program, presided over for 46 years by one of the iconic patriarchs in American sports culture.

Bystander approach Bystander approach vs. “bystander effect” Brief history MVP created in 1993 Perpetrators, victims, and bystanders Men and women as bystanders: differences and similarities The role of sports culture in the development of the bystander approach

Laying bare the dynamics of male peer culture “I’d have done something” The power of enforced conformity Social norms theory A price to pay for breaking (bystander) silence The definition of manhood

The price to pay with peers: Resentment Tensions in interpersonal relationships Violent reprisals Questioning manhood, heterosexuality “Loyalty” “Code of silence”: teams, gangs, police, military, fraternities

The price to pay in hierarchical relationships Examples: 1st year student-athlete challenges team captain Student-athlete whose coach is abusive to his wife Low-level employee confronts his/her boss Enlisted military member reporting a superior officer

Educating for social justice Move beyond narrow (but necessary) focus on ethics and legalities of reporting Education beyond Power Point: dialogue Dynamics of teams and other cohesive groups Focus on gender and power

Bystander training as leadership training What is leadership “off the field”? Required training on college campuses for: Student-athletes (and other student leaders) Coaches Athletic administrators Non-athletic administrators Everyone else

Questions/Discussion