In 1964 Kitty Genovese, a 28-year-old woman, was raped and murdered in Queens, New York. A New York Times reporter, using police interviews, wrote that 37 people witnessed the attack and refused to call the police or intervene in any way. Thus the “bystander effect” became popular in pop culture, even making its way into social psychology.
The New York Times article turned out to be largely fabricated, though. The article exaggerated not only the number of witnesses, but what they might have seen – especially considering it was 3 am on a very dark street. None saw the whole attack. Only a few saw parts of it, or recognized Kitty’s cries for help. Many thought they had heard lovers or drunks quarreling. There was no 911 at the time, in fact the 911 system was developed in part as a result of this case. At any rate, afterward, two people did call the police. A 70-year-old woman ventured out and cradled the dying victim in her arms until the police arrived, and Kitty Genovese died on the way to a hospital.
But thanks to CCTV, video surveillance of actual crimes has proved that in 91 percent of cases, someone helped victims of aggression and violence … in fact, the more witnesses, the more likely it is that more than one person intervenes. It may be that instead of feeling embarrassment about being inadequate with more witnesses around, as psychologists previously speculated, people are given courage by having others nearby.
All this is of interest to me as I craft my new play, “Bystanders.”