Bystanders to assaults

ThatBloodyWoman...

DH listened to this as well and was incensed at the blasé attitude displayed toward people being attacked. The one that shocked him most was the one where someone started filming the attack.

We have both stepped in when someone was being attacked. It's the only human and honourable thing to do. When the attacker had a weapon, I loudly said that I was calling the police.

You either get involved or you're colluding with the look the other way society.

There's going to be a range of stuff from the "I can't see anything wrong with that" which is really depressing and hopefully on the decrease all the time and bystander effect / scared of being turned on like with the woman having her head banged I'd think people would be scared for the same reasons as if they saw someone being punched or stabbed I'd hope they'd call the police though on 999 in that scenario.

The nasty bit is the bit where a sexual assault is seen as not really such a problem - in that the victim and the assailant both know what's going on and onlookers think it's "a domestic" or not really bad enough to warrant intervention. I don't know how much of that goes on.

Most perpetrators pick situations where there aren't witnesses / an action that society deems "not too bad" eg sticking a hand up a woman's skirt in a club, or depends on the victim not feeling like they can say anything (although if they feel they can then great) like being groped on a crowded tube.

i didn't hear it so I don't really know what sort of things people weren't doing anything about.

'Another was that it might be a couple having a row (so its none of anyone else's business,I suppose hmm )'

I've attempted to intervene in this kind of situation before and have been told to roundly fuck off by both involved parties, so I can understand how people arrive at that conclusion.

'Why wouldn't someone do something?'

I think the main driver from my point of view (I'm a man) would be the risk of getting in a kerfuffle and ending up getting done for affray, assault or somesuch (not of my instigation, but if someone's willing to sexually assault a woman, they are willing to physically assault a man). Then there's the possible knock-on effects of losing my job etc. I wouldn't have a lot of confidence in the police to go after the 'right' guy. Also, having intervened verbally on a couple of instances, I wouldn't expect much support from bystanders - people tend to look the other way.

I'm sorry no-one intervened when you were assaulted.

I suppose it depends on a lot of factors. Severity of the assault, what the victim is like, how tough the assailant looks, bystander effect etc.

What sort of assaults were they talking about?