10 Witnessed Rape and Did Nothing
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The bystander effect.
Genovese syndrome.
Many things we can call it, but it all boils down to a basic break down in the ability of large groups of people to recognize that THEY need to act on a situation, because no one else is doing it.
There's also the 'good neighbor' issue, where no one wants to be the nosy neighbor who's constantly butting in. It's especially common when a household has a history of loud fights or violence.
Trust me when I say this sort of thing is as likely to happen in Canada as it is in any other place on earth which has the distinction of being populated by dumb animals like humans.
Genovese syndrome.
Many things we can call it, but it all boils down to a basic break down in the ability of large groups of people to recognize that THEY need to act on a situation, because no one else is doing it.
There's also the 'good neighbor' issue, where no one wants to be the nosy neighbor who's constantly butting in. It's especially common when a household has a history of loud fights or violence.
Trust me when I say this sort of thing is as likely to happen in Canada as it is in any other place on earth which has the distinction of being populated by dumb animals like humans.
It did happen. Victoria BC. Blanchard Courts (largest low income housing complex in canada) The area also has roughly 10 condo units/apt bldgs, plus various homes. Woman beaten to death in a open alley beside Blanchard Elementary School. Many heard, no one did anything.
Many a good samaritan has bit the dust trying to do the right thing. But it shouldn't stop us from trying. True, inane western governments have made it a practice to study - and if warranted, charge - any and all who intervene in crimes but just because democracy stinks shouldn't lessen the worthiness of social conscience.
When you help someone else you're really helping yourself.
When you help someone else you're really helping yourself.
Yi, Twila, when did that happen? Must have been while I was living in the Interior. I do find it shocking.
Interesting series of articles I ran across ... gotta scroll down to the "Media" section for the five part series. Heartbreaking but revealing.
``The bystander effect.
Genovese syndrome.``
Happens all the time in state prisons. Terrible thing, for sure. Yet, here in Minnesota it used to be a favorite theme for local comedy shows.
Genovese syndrome.``
Happens all the time in state prisons. Terrible thing, for sure. Yet, here in Minnesota it used to be a favorite theme for local comedy shows.
There are a couple of things which run through our heads quickly when we see another being battered ...
Oh god - this is awful and we stare mutely until we organize what we could do to stop it...
Then we wonder if we can withstand the hurt we will certainly receive and if the perp has a weapon....
If we decide to go forward, we drop caution to the wind and get involved - either outcome good or bad...
If we do assist - we spend hours being interviewed.... days attending court if it gets that far... and sometimes insulted by the 'other side'....
And....even at the far side of this kind of scenario the person being battered turns on us for interfering......
It isn't something we can learn unless we've had a few trial runs - and not many have.
I watched a television show where they couples were being encouraged to show violence - throw food - and tear hair - there were four people involved, two men and two women... it turned my stomach...
It was being aired in California about the same time kids were coming home from school.
Violence promoted.
Because I am an avowed coward, unless the person being battered was a child or a senior or disabled, I would pass on the whole thing.... because I know I wouldn't win and would probably escalate the situation.
Oh god - this is awful and we stare mutely until we organize what we could do to stop it...
Then we wonder if we can withstand the hurt we will certainly receive and if the perp has a weapon....
If we decide to go forward, we drop caution to the wind and get involved - either outcome good or bad...
If we do assist - we spend hours being interviewed.... days attending court if it gets that far... and sometimes insulted by the 'other side'....
And....even at the far side of this kind of scenario the person being battered turns on us for interfering......
It isn't something we can learn unless we've had a few trial runs - and not many have.
I watched a television show where they couples were being encouraged to show violence - throw food - and tear hair - there were four people involved, two men and two women... it turned my stomach...
It was being aired in California about the same time kids were coming home from school.
Violence promoted.
Because I am an avowed coward, unless the person being battered was a child or a senior or disabled, I would pass on the whole thing.... because I know I wouldn't win and would probably escalate the situation.
It doesn't take much to shout from a safe distance that your calling the police, and actually do it. There is no need for physical involvment if you can't handle it.
I was unable to bring up the article, did any witness call police? I can't believe this woman indured this for 90 mins.
I was unable to bring up the article, did any witness call police? I can't believe this woman indured this for 90 mins.
Brat
Found a write up in a blog from Minnesota... the newswires have pulled it or are just showing video...
http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/011999.php ( didn't post the comments only the write up)
August 24, 2007
Ten Stroll Past Sexual Assault In St. Paul
Twin Cities residents now have to share a moment of shame with New York City. Forty years ago, Kitty Genovese screamed for help when being murdered, and her Big Apple neighbors didn't lift a finger to help her -- not even to dial the phone to call the police. Yesterday, police in St. Paul say that at least 10 people saw a sexual assault take place in their hallway but did nothing to stop it:
Although police say as many as 10 people witnessed a sexual assault in a St. Paul hallway, the suspect said he has no memory of what happened. Rage Ibrahim, 25, said he blacked out from drinking too much alcohol. But he said he wouldn't have committed rape. ...
Surveillance video from a Highwood-area apartment hallway makes it clear that a sexual assault happened Tuesday, St. Paul police Cmdr. Shari Gray said.
Prosecutors charged Ibrahim, of St. Paul, on Thursday with first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
From five to 10 people peeked out of their apartment doors to see what was happening. Some started walking down the hallway but retreated after witnessing the assault, Gray said, based on surveillance video she saw. None stopped the assault, she said.
Not only did the sexual assault take place in the hallway, where the neighbors could hear the screams and pleas for help, but the security camera video shows at least ten people watching the assault and doing nothing about it. One man claims he called the police when the woman beat on his door for rescue, prior to the assault, but the police say they have no record of his call. Someone else called to complain about two drunken people in the hallway, which put the complaint at the lowest response priority for the police. They arrive 40 minutes afterwards to find out that the woman had been sexually assaulted.Surveillance video from a Highwood-area apartment hallway makes it clear that a sexual assault happened Tuesday, St. Paul police Cmdr. Shari Gray said.
Prosecutors charged Ibrahim, of St. Paul, on Thursday with first- and third-degree criminal sexual conduct.
From five to 10 people peeked out of their apartment doors to see what was happening. Some started walking down the hallway but retreated after witnessing the assault, Gray said, based on surveillance video she saw. None stopped the assault, she said.
Why didn't the neighbors do anything, except the one who complained about drunken clamor? The Pioneer Press notes that the residents in this apartment building are Somalis. Omar Jamal, from the Somali Justice Advocacy Center, says Somalis are used to mistrusting the police and are conditioned to say nothing. Could it also be related to their religious upbringing, which tends to blame women for sexual assaults? It makes at least as much sense as the Somali community fleeing halfway around the world to find freedom, then believing they're living in a police state after living here for a while.
Omar has a history of blaming the victim himself, as this Star Tribune article notes (via Michelle Malkin):
Ahmed beat his wife so badly last summer in her St. Paul apartment that she is in a prison of her own: She has permanent brain damage and scars. She will never be able to care for her 17-month-old son because she will never be able to care for herself. Advocates and law enforcement authorities say domestic violence often is a taboo topic in the male-dominated Somali community. Women are strongly discouraged from reporting it, said Omar Jamal of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center.
There is a "deep mistrust in the system," he said. "This case created bad disagreement in the community. Most of the men didn't like that the women [took the case] this far."
It's the women who created the "bad disagreement" by insisting that a man who literally beat his wife senseless got prosecuted for the crime. It goes a long way to understanding why Rage Ibrahim could rape a woman in a hallway while fellow Somalis strolled past and never worried about being caught or even challenged. People like Omar Jamal have his back, and so do Rage's neighbors.There is a "deep mistrust in the system," he said. "This case created bad disagreement in the community. Most of the men didn't like that the women [took the case] this far."
UPDATE: It should be noted that Genovese's neighbors didn't have to be Muslims or immigrants to ignore her 40 years ago.
UPDATE II: I'm going to reiterate what I wrote in the comments -- if Omar Jamal wants to argue that their cultural development keeps Somalis from protecting women from being raped in hallways or even reporting it to the police, then he has made the Somali culture the point of argument, not me.
All I'm saying is that if Somalis in St Paul are culturally inclined to ignore rapes occurring right before their eyes, which part of that culture is more likely to be the issue here? Somehow I doubt it's the police in Somalia.
Posted by Ed Morrissey on August 24, 2007 7:17 AM | Comments (52) | TrackBacks (0)
When I was at the cottage this summer, CBC Radio reported a woman in Calgary was raped and murdered. The screams were audible for 2-3 hours in a suburban (white) neighbourhood. Nobody called the police. People do not want to get involved whether or not they are American or Canadian.