Public harassment (PH) in nightlife (i.e., intrusive and unwanted (sexual) behaviors) is a harmful experience that relates to more severe iterations of (sexual) violence. Moreover, it’s a pervasive societal problem that reinforces power relations and inequality. Current strategies to address PH fall short however because of its complicated nature and the creation of unwanted side effects. Two important knowledge gaps were identified regarding research on PH: insufficient research on the potential of bystanders to reduce this harmful behavior and no research on nudging, a renowned theory from the field of behavioral economics, as a means to address PH. This project will address
these research gaps through the following approaches: First, a literature study will be conducted to investigate which cognitive biases are best targeted to nudge bystander intervention during PH in nightlife and in what form the nudge should appear. Second, we will run an experimental extended reality (XR) study to identify which of the proposed nudges potentially has the most sizeable impact
on bystander intervention during PH in nightlife. Third, a second experiment will be conducted in nightlife venues of the city of Ghent to test whether implementing nudges has an effect on 1) perceived bystander intervention and 2) the attitudes and behavioral intention towards bystander intervention. This project’s findings will provide important insights for PH intervention strategies and future research.