The bystander effect is a situation where witnesses remain indifferent to violence. One of the most famous cases of the bystander effect was Kitty Genovese’s murder. On March 13, 1964, in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York, the assassin attacked Kitty at 3:15 am (Hanton, 2019). The man stabbed Kitty in the back with a knife, and she began to call for help, which attracted the attention of neighbors since the scene took place in the courtyard of an apartment building. One of the witnesses shouted at the killer, and he disappeared, after which Kitty crawled for about 10 minutes in the light of street lanterns in the direction of the building’s hall to enter her apartment. The killer then returned, found her next to the closed hall doors, where he stabbed her and continued to beat her, and then raped her. Twelve people who watched the scene did not inform the police. This paper aims to discuss the bystander effect and provide some insights into its reasons.
Another infamous and most recent case associated with the bystander effect happened to 16-years-old Hassin Morris on September 17, 2019. A group of five teenagers began to beat the boy at 3 pm at the entrance to the shopping center, while about 50 other people filmed the scene on smartphones (Hanton, 2019). Morris was beaten and then stabbed to death; the perpetrators were subsequently arrested and served a prison sentence. However, if even one of the witnesses called the police, the boy could have been saved. So-called digital violence is a popular trend, with witnesses to scenes of violence streaming them on Facebook live. This bystander effect is more powerful when more witnesses observe the violence, which is called the diffusion of responsibility when witnesses think that someone else probably called the police.
Thus, the bystander effect was discussed, and its reasons were determined. As a rule, witnesses believe that someone else called the police or do not consider themselves responsible for what is happening and do not want to interfere. The underlying reason for this behavior is fear and diffused responsibility when responsibility for what is happening is shifted to others. That is why it is believed that in such situations, more witnesses mean less likelihood that the victim of violence will get help.
Reference
Hanton, A. (2019). Ten notorious cases of the bystander effect.