Regardless of the causes and circumstances of the attack, question marks were raised about how to explain the behavior of the people who witnessed the incident and did not intervene, as some of them only filmed what was going on.
Genovese syndrome
But what happened, despite its strangeness, is universally known, and is linked to human behavior that calls for confusion, and it bears the name “the effect of spectators” or “Genovizi syndrome.”
Dr. Rima Bejjani, a researcher and psychological analyst, said in an interview with “Sky News Arabia”, that the phenomenon of “bystanders effect” or “Genovisie syndrome” is a “psychosocial phenomenon, which refers to a person’s refusal to provide assistance to the victim if there are other attendees.” Every spectator is waiting for someone else to intervene, and the result is that everyone will not be helped.”
What is the story behind the name?
The origin of the phenomenon’s name “Genoese syndrome” dates back to March 1964, when a woman named Catherine Susan Genovese from New York City was stabbed to death outside her apartment.
It is said that 38 people saw the incident, but no one intervened. This incident sparked research that became known as the “bystander effect” or the “Genovese syndrome”.
fear and danger
The moment of a murder is a frightening moment for those present, as feelings of fear and danger are mixed with a lack of understanding of what is happening, and the “brutality” of the scene may create a shock that makes a person unable to act.
The psychoanalyst says that “those present at the crime scene are divided into several categories. Some of them do not have the physical ability to provide assistance, and some do not want to put themselves in a dangerous situation due to the lack of clarity of the cause of the accident, and some of them do not care.”
And she continues: “If we want to be realistic, we cannot describe those who did not intervene to help as heartless. Rather, what happens is that the human mind has distributed responsibility, and assuming that someone will provide assistance instead of him, and the matter ends with no one playing this role.”
The necessity of applying the “rule of three”
For his part, the head of the Department of Psychiatry at the Lebanese University, Elie Chedid, believes that “people’s knowledge of the phenomenon of bystander influence makes them ready to act and more aware in providing assistance and informing the concerned authorities.”
In such a situation, the individual must follow the “triple rule”, which is “do not wait, do not hesitate, and do not assume,” according to Shadeed, stressing that “the least that can be done in this case is to call the police and ambulance.”
Shock and scoop
Indeed, this incident sometimes affects the lives of onlookers. In this context, Shadid reveals that “a spectator of the crime may later feel guilty for standing aside.
And some of these bystanders “exposed to a post-traumatic effect, as soon as they do not intervene, which may require psychological treatment in some cases.”
Shadeed concludes his speech by saying that “the phenomenon of some people being satisfied with filming the crime is out of the ordinary,” but he points out at the same time that there are people who “feel that filming is important to help the police track down the criminal, while some are looking for a scoop investigation and garnered high views.”
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