When apathy is a deadly sin
There have been countless crimes over the years where witnesses to crimes don’t testify, don’t intervene, or worse yet, don’t even call the police. Genovese Syndrome (also known as the bystander effect) is the name given to people who witness a crime or violent act and don’t want to get involved or just stand idly by and watch. The term was coined after Kitty Genovese was raped and murdered in New York in the ’60s. When asked why he didn’t report it, a witness in a nearby building stated, “I didn’t want to get involved.”
Such was the case recently when a girl was gang-raped the evening of her school’s homecoming dance. Police estimate over 20 people were involved or stood by and watched; some even laughing. Witnesses did nothing, not because they didn’t want to get involved, but because the group as a whole had decided to do nothing and thus reaffirmed the notion that what was occurring was acceptable.
Should these witnesses be charged with the same crimes as the actual perpetrators? Are they just as guilty for not standing up for the victim? Is there another side to this story that makes their actions justifiable? Does it matter?
In California, it is illegal not to report a crime if it involves children, but it only covers those who are 14 and younger, so the victim of the homecoming gang-rape is excluded (she is 15 years old). One person is all it would have taken to call the police, or just say stop. Should apathy be punished?