Potter says a big factor in this tendency towards inaction when witnessing this kind of assault is the large number of what she calls 'rape-myths' that continue to be perpetuated in our society.

Sharyn Potter: In our culture we tend to blame victims of rape. So there's a lot of misinformation tied up in people's attitudes.

Tom Porter: Could it not be that the bystanders were afraid to intervene as this could put them in danger?

SP: Right, but in this day of the cell-phone age it's really easy for somebody to hide behind a bush or something and very discreetly call 911 or text for help.

TP: So when this girl was being assaulted, because it was of a sexual nature, people felt that somehow they should not get involved?

SP: I don't know that, but there was a lot of people, and when there's a lot of people, the responsibility tends to diffuse. Maybe people tend not to feel as responsible when they do not know the victim.

TP: So there's an inverse proportion between the number of witnesses and likelihood of somebody doing something -- the more people are onlooking, the less likely something's going to happen?

SP: That's what the research has shown.

TP: But what exactly is it that tends to dissuade people from acting?

SP: Well we have these media images that continue to objectify women and equate sexuality and violence and condone the use of force and coercion in a relationship, so we're living in a really complicated culture.

TP: So what are you doing to try and encourage people to help in these situations?

SP: We have developed at UNH a 'Bringing in the Bystander' program and social marketing program, and we train people to be what we refer to as 'pro-social bystanders' -- how can you help a victim without being involved as a bystander, without being hurt.

TP: So you mentioned cellphones, is it as simple as just getting on the phone and dialing 9-1-1 and describing what you're seeing?

SP: Right, and leaving it to the authorities who are trained to handle situations like that. We're not advocating for a bystander to go into a situation where they could become hurt.

TP: What are some of the key things you've been learning from this Bringing in the Bystander program that you've been running - not just at UNH but in schools and communities across the country?

SP: We have a prevention program where students are educated about the problems of sexual violence and actually learn about the role of bystanders and prevention and are able to practice through role-playing, and what we've found is that students that participate in the in-person program are much more confident and report that they've actually acted in a bystander role when they've seen sexual violence occuring, or about to occur or has occured.

TP: You're saying you have noticed a definite increase in people intervening in situations where they wouldn't have intervened before because of the work you've done?

SP: That's what they report in the research we've been collecting.

Sharyn Potter is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of New Hampshire.