Steubenville Rape Exemplifies Bystander Apathy

ELLEN LI
News Editor

The small town of Steubenville, Ohio garnered national attention last month during a widely publicized rape trial. A 16-year-old girl was allegedly sexually assaulted by two high school football players when she was heavily inebriated while her peers looked on, several of whom documented the acts on social media sites.
The defendants were convicted of rape on March 17, but there remains a question as to why onlookers allowed the attack to continue. In a recent Washington Post article, Kathleen Parker explored the potential reason for the witnesses’ apparent apathy, saying that this case has “captured the ‘bystander effect’ in graphic and nauseating detail.”
The bystander effect is a psychological term coined after the infamous case of Kitty Genovese, who was raped and murdered on the streets of Queens, N.Y. in 1964. Genovese’s neighbors reportedly ignored her screams and did nothing to intervene.
While this rendition of events was later disputed, people were horrified by the apparent lack of interest from her neighbors during the crime. According to Psychology Today, the bulk of research evidence over the years has shown that the larger the crowd, the less likely anyone is to offer help.
“Individuals don’t act upon these situations because they think […] ‘Oh, there’s so many people here, someone else might help’ or ‘I’m so glad that’s not happening to me,’” senior Raphael Solis said.
Two key factors contribute to the bystander effect. Firstly, because there are other observers, individuals feel that the responsibility to act is shared among all of those present. Secondly, when other observers fail to react, individuals view it as a signal that a response is unnecessary.
In Steubenville’s rape case, not only were there witnesses to the assault, but there were also other teenagers who learned of the incident through posts on social media outlets.
According to Parker, though social media has been credited with helping solve this crime, what has not been addressed is the role that social media plays in the event itself. The ease with which people can take pictures and record videos removes people from circumstances and thus responsibility. Nonetheless, people need to be aware of their own involvement in such situations, whether it is as a witness or an online viewer.
“Bystanders have a responsibility to act when they witness crimes,” junior Felix Zhang said. “[They can] inform the police and tell others so people have a chance of stopping it.”