Interveners
Another form of witness is bully intervener—a child who intervenes
on behalf of the victim during bullying situations. These witnesses are
likely to stick up for the victim during bullying situations, or to console the
victim following a bullying episode. Interveners are often motivated to
defend or console victims not out of friendship with the victim but out of
a sense of injustice and a desire to oppose the bullies and their supporters.
The bullying behavior itself seems to reinforce the intervener’s desire to
intercede more than the victim’s behavior does. According to Craig and
Pepler (1997), peers intervened in 11 percent of playground bullying
episodes; adults were significantly less likely to intervene, taking action
only 4 percent of the time.