Saturday June 12, 2021, a lifeguard was sexually assaulted on a Marseille beach by two men. Without anyone coming to his aid …
A more than sunny Marseille weekend. On Saturday June 12, 2021, the beaches were crowded: residents and tourists looking for escape were there after long months of confinement. But at the same time, a sexual assault took place: two men aged 25 and 28 attacked a rescuer, aged 19 and working at Escale Borély beach. Individuals climbed the ladder of his lookout chair to touch, especially on his chest. According to Provence.fr, the two men would also have taken a picture of the young woman.
It’s only at the end of the day “that two lifeguards police officers were alerted by one of their colleagues from the coastal security and prevention unit (USPL)”, writes the local newspaper. The young woman was “prostrate and in tears at the foot of her chair”. As La Provence points out, this assault took place in the indifference of witnesses to the scene, a frequent situation during assault in public.
“The spectator effect” or “Kitty Genovese effect”
Far from being unique, this situation of non-assistance during an assault even has a name: “the spectator effect” (“bystander effect” in English), or even “Kitty Genovese effect”. In social psychology, this effect helps explain why, in an emergency situation, a group of people do not come to the aid of the victims. In 1968, two American psychologists, John Darley and Bibb Latane, theorized the “spectator effect”, four years after the murder in the street in New York of Catherine Genovese. Despite her calls and screams, none of her neighbors had tried to help her or reach the police.
As theEncyclopædia Britannica, “Research has shown that, even in an emergency, a bystander is less likely to help when they are in the actual presence of other people than when they are alone. More bystanders entrain as aid decreases, the impact of each additional spectator has a decreasing effect on aid. ” Clearly, a process of dilution of responsibility is set up through the people attending the same emergency situation.
To counter this “spectator effect”, it is first necessary to disseminate information on its mechanisms on a large scale. And legally, remember that non-assistance to a person in danger is a criminal offense, up to 5 years imprisonment and a 75,000 euros fine. Finally, if you are the victim or witness of an assault and you need help, try to identify specific members of the group by pointing at them and / or describing them aloud (for example: ” You, the gentleman with the cap, help me! “). This often allows the different people present to come out of their “collective torpor” and make them aware that, as an individual, it is possible for them to act.
If you are the victim of an assault or spectateur.ice, go to the PHAROS reporting platform: www.internet-signalement.gouv.fr
– In an emergency, dial 17 or 112.