Toxic Triangle

The Toxic Triangle is a framework or set of words that were introduced in HBA1 LPO Course. Rather than being one of the core 3 frameworks of the course, it’s more of a way for us to speak the same language as the professors and TAs.

There are three components of the toxic triangle:

• Perpetrator: initiates harmful behavior
• Target: receives the mistreatment
• Bystanders: witness and can interrupt or reinforce the behavior

Overt vs. Subtle Discrimination

• Overt: clear, direct, openly harmful actions
• Subtle: ambiguous, harder to detect, often accumulates over time