In nonviolent conflict intervention (also known as third party nonviolent intervention), interposition is the act of literally getting in between conflicting parties to deter them from using violence against one another. Commonly, it is assumed that interposition owes its effectiveness to the conflicting parties’ unwillingness to harm an innocent bystander. However, there is also a more subtle and compelling effect of interposition, which is that violence against another human being depends on the ability of the perpetrator to dehumanize the intended recipient of the violent act, that is, to numb themselves to this person’s humanity. When a nonviolent intervener interposes themselves, they are in effect, saying, “I am willing to sacrifice myself to protect this human being’s life.” This has the effect of awakening the would be perpetrator to the humanity of the would be target, and, momentarily, to their own humanity, thereby making proceeding with violence much more difficult.