Active Witnessing

Ishu Ishiyama. Notes from a presentation at the American Psychological Association’s National Multicultural Summit, Seattle, Washington, January 26, 2007

Everyone is a witness to discrimination. We have choices in HOW we carry the witness role.

There are 4 levels of “witnessing”

  1. Dis-Witness- Join with the offender, rationalize the discrimination or demonstrate indifference. Example: “Nothing is wrong. I see no injury.” “If they were more like us, it wouldn’t be an issue”
  2. Passive witnessing- Recognize that the discrimination is wrong, but react with silence. Hear, see, feel the problem, but take no action. Example: “I was scared” “I don’t know what to do” “Why didn’t someone do something?”
  3. Active witnessing- Immediate or delayed action, speaking out or engagement. Hear, see, feel and do. Examples: can turn to the “victim”, the offender, co-witnesses, and/or to others outside the situation in which discrimination took place.
  4. Ethical Social Action- take broader social action, confront and educated others, become an agent for social change.

Forms of Active witnessing: Choose the focus and intensity of response.

  1. Interrupt- “Stop, please” “Wait a minute. Is this a place for such jokes?”
  2. Express upset- “I’m surprised” “I can’t believe you said that” “I’m disappointed. I know you’re better than that”
  3. Label the behavior- “That’s harassment” “That’s discriminatory, and I find it not funny”
  4. Call attention to the emotional state of the offender- “You seem tense and upset, what’s going on?” “You seem so upset that you can only see one side of this”
  5. Question the validity- “Always?” “How do you know that?”
  6. Point out the behavior is hurtful- “Do you realize that you are re-victimizing someone?” “This is demeaning and derogatory.”
  7. Put the offender on the spot- “What did you say? Would you say that again?” “Should we put this comment into our minutes?”
  8. Help the offender reflect- “I know you are usually better than this” “Where did you pick up this attitude? Is it your true attitude?”
  9. Support the Victim- “I’m with you. You are not alone. Let’s go get help” “What’s happening to you is wrong”

10.Turn to co-witnesses- “Did you hear that?” “I’m bothered by this. Does it bother anyone else?”

11. Ask other for help- Describe what happened and how it affected you, ask for help or involvement.