In bullying, bystanders are individuals who are neither victims nor perpetrators, but witnesses to bullying in person or online. A bystander can be a friend, a student, a peer, a teacher, a school staff member, a parent, a coach, or some other adult serving youth. Even strangers can be bystanders in cyberbullying situations (Bystanders to Bullying 2018). The behavior of student bystanders who witness a bullying incident can vary, and these behaviors have been classified into distinct bystander roles. These roles include “assistants”, who actively assist the bully in victimizing the target; “reinforcers”, who laugh or simply observe the situation; “outsiders”, who remain neutral and often choose to disengage or walk away from the group; and “defenders”, who step in to intervene and/or offer support to the target of bullying (Salmivalli et al. 1996, p. 15).

For more than 40 years, social psychology research has focused on bystander behavior. This was initially sparked by the outcry over the violent murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964 that was witnessed by bystanders who did not offer any help. It was proposed that the bystanders were reluctant to act due to either uncertainty about the emergency situation (known as pluralistic ignorance) or the belief that other people would take responsibility for helping the victim (known as diffusion of responsibility) (Nickerson et al. 2014). Thus, the presence of others can hinder helping behavior, which is known as the bystander effect (Dovidio et al. 2017). One explanation for the diffusion of responsibility is that an individual may feel less obligated to act when in a group rather than alone, potentially due to audience inhibition or the fear of being embarrassed in front of others (Latané and Nida 1981).

Latané and Darley’s (1970) model for bystander intervention outlines a series of five sequential steps that must be taken in order to act: (a) noticing the event, (b) interpreting the event as an emergency in need of assistance, (c) assuming responsibility for intervening, (d) knowing how to intervene or offer help, and (e) implementing the decision to intervene. While it has been reported that bullying is widespread in educational institutions in Pakistan, students may not always be aware of the relevant cues (e.g., hearing derogatory names) or may not perceive them as significant events (Saleem et al. 2021; Siddiqui et al. 2023; Nickerson et al. 2014). Once an event has been noticed, the situation must be correctly interpreted as an emergency requiring help. Research has shown that errors in decision-making can occur at this stage as individuals look to other bystanders to guide their interpretation. Additionally, ambiguity in the situation may make it difficult for an individual to recognize that help is needed, leading them to rely on cues from others to determine whether or not the situation is an emergency (Nickerson et al. 2014). After noticing an event and correctly interpreting it as an emergency requiring assistance, the next crucial step is for the individual to assume personal responsibility for intervening. In the presence of bystanders, people may believe that someone else will act or that responsibility (or blame) will be diffused throughout the group (Latané and Darley 1968). The following step involves knowing the appropriate actions to take in order to respond effectively to the situation in need of help. However, a lack of intervention skills (Burn 2009) can impede the ability to know which actions are necessary to intervene effectively in the situation. Ultimately, the final step in the bystander intervention model is to intervene in the situation.

Bystanders are often the initial witnesses to incidents and typically report them to teachers, which is why they are frequently trained in most interventions (Bjereld 2018). However, in Pakistan, the number of bystanders who inform a teacher of an incident or indirectly intervene appears to be low (Siddiqui et al. 2023). Gordon (2019) identified several reasons why bystanders may not intervene or report incidents to adults, including fear of victimization for reporting or intervening, a lack of knowledge about what to do in such situations, mistrust of adults, being taught to avoid such situations, and moral disengagement beliefs. It is essential to investigate the primary reasons for bystanders’ silence in Pakistan. Furthermore, future intervention designs for educational institutions in Pakistan should emphasize the role of bystanders in the bullying chain. When students see their peers taking a stand against bullying, they are more likely to follow suit. This creates a positive environment where students are encouraged to act in a responsible and respectful manner towards one another. Moreover, when students are given the opportunity to take an active role in preventing bullying, they are more likely to feel invested and engaged in the process. This can lead to more buy-in from the student body and an increased likelihood of success.

Studies by Ahmed et al. (2022); Perveen et al. (2022); Shahid et al. (2022); and Siddiqui et al. (2021) have shown that bullying and cyberbullying are pervasive in Pakistani educational institutions and can have detrimental effects on the physical and mental well-being of students. Previous research has also indicated that importing or implementing antibullying interventions from other countries to combat bullying in Pakistani educational institutions has not always been effective (McFarlane et al. 2017; Siddiqui et al. 2023). Victims usually of adolescent age are reluctant to share their problems with adults. They value their privacy and seek anonymous help through peer support (Jacobs et al. 2016; Matuschka et al. 2022). It is also reported that youth do not involve adults concerning victimization issues because of distrust of adults and concerns about being blamed (Bjereld 2018). Most of the time, children do not disclose bullying incidents as they feel ashamed about being a victim (ibid). Even with encouragement, many bullied students do not disclose or involve adults in their difficulties (Black et al. 2010) and often contact peers for help. Peer-led programs are being developed in different regions where peers receive training sessions so that they can participate in school-wide events aimed at reducing bullying (Espelage and Hong 2017). A qualitative study conducted by Tzani-Pepelasi et al. (2019) in the UK explored the effectiveness of the ‘buddy approach’ in improving the overall school environment. The study shed light on the positive impact of this approach on both young mentors and mentees. Semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions were used to explore the effectiveness of the buddy program approach. The results showed that the program was successful in supporting students to develop friendships, as well as feelings of safety, belonging, and protection. It also helped to develop a sense of responsibility, satisfaction, and pride. Similarly, a qualitative and comparative study by Biswas et al. (2020) found that peer-support programs in both Asian and African regions were associated with a reduced risk of bullying victimization. Another quasi-experimental study conducted by Ferrer-Cascales et al. (2019) with 2057 Spanish students evaluated the effectiveness of the TEI program, an intervention based on peer tutoring aiming to reduce bullying and cyberbullying and improve the school climate. The results of the study showed a significant decrease in bullying behavior, peer victimization, fighting, cyberbullying, and cybervictimization within the experimental group following the implementation of the intervention. In addition, the experimental group showed significant improvements in various aspects of the school climate. This study serves as an illustrative example of the considerable potential of peer antibullying training to effectively reduce bullying and victimization.

Based on the success rate of peer involvement in antibullying interventions (Biswas et al. 2020; Ferrer-Cascales et al. 2019; Menesini et al. 2018; Tzani-Pepelasi et al. 2019; Zambuto et al. 2020), the Sohanjana Antibullying Intervention is also designed to involve high-status peers to help school administrators and teachers to create a zero-bullying environment. Students are more likely to listen to and trust their peers than they are to listen to authority figures such as teachers or administrators; having peers lead intervention efforts can lead to a more effective dissemination of information and a greater impact on changing student behavior. Unfortunately, no such training programs are reported in Pakistan’s context. There is a great deal of concern about bullying among children and adolescents in Pakistan, but it is rarely addressed and little research has been conducted (Ashfaq et al. 2018). While certain researchers have reported interventions where external practitioners implemented antibullying strategies to address bullying in educational institutions (Karmaliani et al. 2020; Maryam and Ijaz 2019; McFarlane et al. 2017), there have been no reports in Pakistan’s context of training peers to combat this issue and cultivate prosocial bystanders. Similarly, there is need to expand research on bullying and interventions in low-to-middle income countries like Pakistan (Sivaraman et al. 2019).