He Stood By And Watched A Woman Get Beaten And Dragged Away, Filming The Whole Time

Now that we travel with phones that have video capability at the touch of a button, more and more crimes are being caught on camera.

When help is already on the way, this footage can be vital in showing exactly what happened in these situations and shed light on the aftermath of illegal activity. Other times, however, the person taking video simply stands by and assumes others will help. This is called the bystander effect, and our current iteration of the phenomenon is troubling.

N.G. Berrill, a forensic psychologist and the executive director of the New York Center for Neuropsychology and Forensic Behavioral Science, said to Hooked Sober that social media contributes to desensitization and a huge need for validation. Essentially, if there are many people witnessing a crime, there is a smaller chance that someone will help.

This video, which shows a woman in Kazakhstan being beaten, robbed, and dragged away, illustrates the bystander effect in action. The footage may be upsetting to some viewers.

Local media outlets say police are investigating the incident, but no one is currently in custody.

Others on social media who have seen the video are disgusted with the cameraman’s behavior. One social media user, Azheka, writes, “The poor woman was being beaten and there was no one to help her. God only knows what happened to her after that.”

Another was even angrier, saying, “There are three bastards on the video: two thugs and one sick cameraman.”

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What can you do to prevent the bystander effect? It’s simple. If you see something, say something. Don’t assume others are getting help or calling the police. Be the hero in the situation instead of filming tragedy for the internet. You could just save a life.