Do you stand back and take photos? Or do you help?
by LUCY ORMONDE
Have you ever looked at a photograph of a dying child or a wounded animal and wondered – how did that even get taken?
I mean, how is it possible for a journalist or a photographer to stand by and take notes – or photographs – of a tragedy and not step in to help?
It’s a question that’s front of mind in India at the moment, after two journalists filmed a teenage girl being sexually assaulted by a group of up to 12 men on a busy street outside a bar.
The girl was assaulted for a period of about 45 minutes during which time the journalists (at least one of whom was off duty) continued filming – and did not step in to intervene.
The footage shot by the journalist and the cameraman was aired on news channels and according to The Guardian and it’s prompted a debate over the intended subject of women’s safety in India, but also the subject of whether journalists have an obligation to help.
This from the UK press:
In an interview with Indian media, the victim asked why the journalists did not intervene: “They were only taking pictures. Why could they not help me?”
Police have been criticised over their initial indifference towards the attack, which took place last Monday just minutes from the nearest police station in Guwahati, Assam.
Frustrated at police inaction in the days following the assault, residents put up “wanted” posters of the men caught on camera and circulated the images on social networking sites.
Most of the men have now been arrested over the attack (most were arrested thanks to identification via social media). And according to the reports, the footage of the attack has “highlighted the dangers of being a woman in the world’s biggest democracy.
But the employer of the journalists who filmed the attack has been forced to defend its staff.
The victim told local media that the attack went on for “about 45 minutes” and that she would have been raped had the police not eventually come to her aid.
NewsLive channel, whose journalists filmed the attack, defended its staff for not intervening. “Some [media] questioned me as to why my reporter and camera person shot the incident and didn’t prevent the mob from molesting the girl,” tweeted its editor-in-chief, Atanu Bhuyan. “But I’m backing my team since the mob would have attacked them, prevented them from shooting, that would have only destroyed all evidence.”
These pictures come via The Guardian. They’re from a gallery called ‘The Bystanders’ and they’re the kind of images we’re talking about. They’re from a series of stills taken by photographers who witnessed acts of war, the devastation of famine and acts of domestic violence – and didn’t step in to help.
Mob Attack, by Greg Marinovich. 'I was gutted that I'd been such a coward'
You can find that full gallery – and it really is worth a look because it challenges our notions about journalistic ethics – at The Guardian.
It’s a tough one. It really is. It’s a journalist’s job to report the story, not be the story. And if no one reports sexual assaults, the rest of the population is unaware and unable to act to eradicate.
But what about journalistic ethics? But what about compassion? What about the victim of the attack? And what of a basic human instinct to want to help?
Is it ever justifiable to take a moment to record the situation before you take action to help?
And now that every person, every where is a potential journalist – carrying a still and video camera around in their pocket in the form of a mobile phone – what should our first reaction be?
We’re keen to know your thoughts. Do bystanders have a duty to step in and help?
Comments
60 Comments so far
The answer to this debate surely is dependant on the crime being committed and the danger to the person considering intervening. In this case particularly however, I feel that the journalists certainly had a responsibility to at the very least alert the authorities. Capturing evidence is important however the initial safety of the victim should always be paramount. Sadly, the world we live in is becoming increasingly violent and dangerous and being attacked yourself does no good for the victim. ALWAYS contact police if you witness something as they are trained to deal with this type of thing. Too many people turn a blind eye to things – which allows more crimes to be committed.
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Of course we should help. I couldn’t stop myself from intervening even if I tried.
Even if you can do nothing to prevent a bad outcome, imagine being the victim seeing bystanders just watching. This is why bullying is such a huge problem today. No one wants to get involved. Look at the bullycide videos on You tube. We all need to wake up!
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It is a tough one. On one hand it’s disgusting that a person would stand by and take photos – on the other hand, they’re spreading awareness of the situation, which can be extremely important.
I guess for me the difference is whether they can actually change the situation. If the jour no tried to intervene with the man being beaten with the gang holding poles above, he would have been beating too (possibly to death). So not intervening seems reasonable. But two men watching a girl get assaulted for 45 minutes and not even calling in the police, drawing attention or otherwise trying to stop it – WTF? They could have stopped it and they didn’t, so they’re contributing to her assault.
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Are the bystanders really innocent?
No. Of course they’re not. They’re little more than voyeurs of questionable morals and ethics.
And to use the excuse that journalists should never become part of the story, is about the lowest of the low. In this instance if they had intervened early then maybe they would have been no sexual assault to report.
Unfortunately, we now live in a world where it’s every man (and woman) for themselves. And any misfortune that befalls us is simply grist for the mill for those who would profit from it – and they’re everywhere!
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Sadly it is a proven fact that the bystander effect is very real. You are less likely to be helped the more people who are around. Everyone thinks someone else will step in and it helps them to feel better about doing nothing.
These days, people are scared about what will happen if they become involved. There are so many stories and news pieces we see that validate this. Recently a young women pulled over on a main freeway to “help” a man she thought was injured as he was laying on the side of the road. He raped her and left her there.
In relation to journalism, I don’t think that has anything to do with a bystander effect. They are often reporting on shocking events that can do better by being seen around the world. BUT in this case, they should have intervened instead of making a story out of it.
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Travelling on the tube, I was next to an elderly man who was being abused by a man with obvious mental health issues. Looking around my fellow passengers it was obvious no one was going to difuse the situation. I started to speak to the abuser in a quiet voice and asked him how he was. He left the elderly man and then carried on a strange conversation with me. Crisis averted and I got off as did many others at the next stop.
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Are you kidding? Why is this even a question? That poor girl – utterly appalling. What the hell is wrong with these people?
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Not exactly the same, but I recently intervened when I saw a ‘domestic’ argument on the street and thought the man was quite threatening. He seemed shocked when I intervened and started yelling at me. The interesting thing is that some of my friends said I should have stayed away and that nobody would have helped me if he had turned on me – isn’t that the problem with our society sometimes?
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I would find new friends!
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Hum yeah. So would I.
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I expected to read comments about how all journalists are cowards. But I’m pleasantly surprised.
This is such a tough one and I’m fortunate that I’ve not yet found myself in a position like the NewsLive journos mentioned above. In some situations, the best thing a journo can do is record what is happening and show the world (without the footage in the example above in India, those men would never have been caught).
It depends on what the journo can realistically do at the time. But really, we are told over and over never to get involved in the story, that it should never be about us.
That said, if I felt I could help I probably would. I’m only human.
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I agree that without the video they may not have been caught. However what will happen to them now? Will they even be really punished for their crime? And what about the girl? Assuming there are no long term physical injuries or risk of infection, them being sent to jail does almost nothing to help the victim cope with the attack
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Another thought. Just on Sunday I was at a large market in Korea where , amongst a whole range of other things, you can buy live dogs and they will kill them and prepare them as meat for you on the spot. I happened to walk by as they were catching one of the dogs in its cage. The dog was huge, but because he knew his death was inevitable, instead of attacking the catcher, he was fearfully trying to avoid being caught and wimpering. I took photos because I wanted to be able to show and explain this to others. Another passerby scolded me aggressively for taking photos. Its a big industry and taking a few photos is all I could do without jeopardising my safety. Still I thought capturing suffering is better than just walking by and letting it remain a secret.
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See this is why I don’t travel to these countries – I’d get in a lot of trouble. I would probably attack the bastards. I can not stand by and watch this kind of thing. I do applaud you though for what you did. There need to be some folks who are able to remain calm and bring such evil to light. Me though, I’d react violently, try to intervene despite it ring totally futile, I’d be traumatised for life as I have been by other incidents I’ve witnessed and so I choose to simply avoid them and spread the word about such abuses from afar. I can’t do much good from a prison cell.
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i am against animal cruelty one hundred percent and have never eaten meat in my life. But honestly, just because dogs are involved can you suddenly have the right to criticise an entire culture??!! this logic just seems so silly and immature and as a reason to not even travel to the country is ridiculous. Like everything else in life it’s not black and white. You think it’s normal for cows and pigs and baby lambs to be slaughtered and consumed by us, so they eat dogs- big deal. Honestly these comments infuriate me sometimes because it’s so damn judgemental. Don’t go to the country if you truly don’t want to but also don’t let one silly thing like this hold you back! I’m sure it is a truly remarkable place with a variety of exciting and valuable assets. Some perspective please
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Absolutely right! Korea has some sad practises in terms of animal treatment in the meat industry, but there’s so many wonderful things about culture, and I would say they treat elderly PEOPLE with much more respect than we do in Australia.
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Thank you sophie. How exciting that you have gotten to experience such a vibrant culture. I hope one day I can visit too. It may be a bit off topic, but in terms of journalism there are also always a lot of exceptionally negative things told about a place (especially developing/ asian nations) and the incredibly valuable traits within their cultures are never touched upon. Recently I visited timor leste and honestly the people and wisdom that i found within people in tiny little villages was mind blowing. Even with this girl from India, that is horrible and it does make me wonder what is wrong with humanity, but as someone who has frequently travelled there- i have never found a place so peaceful, spiritual and awe inspiring. I just hope people don’t get the wrong impression based on a few bad scenario articles
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Hi Sophie,
I to have travelled to Korea and love most aspects of the culture and country.. but what you saw just tears me up inside as an animal lover. You may have already, but have you submitted these photos to WSPA and organisations? The more they are seen and talked, hopefully the more we can do!
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That is no difference to a weekend fisherman catching and gutting their fish for lunch or if you go to a chinese restaurant, you choose a fish from the tank and they cook it for you.
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I agree Sophie..It is always the dilemma but you did the right thing
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I totally get this article in relation to actual bystanders, you and me filming teenage girls fighting outside school (not that I would, but you get what I mean), but in relation to journalism???
“They’re from a series of stills taken by photographers who witnessed acts of war, the devastation of famine and acts of domestic violence – and didn’t step in to help.”
What could a journalist do to step in and help in war or famine? And isn’t the very act of capturing the image and sending it to the world an act of help? If we don’t know, how do we know? I think war journalists must have an incredibly tough and emotionally devastating job but their job is to report to us what is happening, not to intervene.
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I think there’s already been enough war journalists killed in the past too. In an actual war zone, it’s every man for himself. Literally. They need to get back alive.
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I’m too frightened of opening the full gallery for what I may see. I am crying over those three pictures shown. I don’t want to ‘turn a blind eye’ to what happens in the world, but some images are just too… heart-wrenching…
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In most cases the journalist does more with their camera than they could do with intermediary action. Often it’s the journalist’s footage that helps identify the perpetrators and brings justice to the victims. In other cases, the photographs give global recognition to issues that often go unnoticed. That doesn’t mean they don’t grieve afterwards or have regrets.
In the India sexual assault case, the journos would have been attacked if they’d intervened – they made a judgement call and I don’t think it’s right to be moralistic when you’re not in that situation.
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45 minutes!?!
That’s more than enough time to get your images identifying the attackers and then get some help for her. The nearest police station was minutes away. How about filming a request for the police to come immediately and intervene? I bet that would have mobilised some action.
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If you research the story more, you’ll see that even the police barely helped her. It’s good that this event is getting coverage and opening up discussions, but this was one of many attacks recently in the north of India, where even the government and police are about as helpful as these cameramen. It was because of the footage the men were tracked down, compared to the many abductions and gang rapes in Gurgaon where basically nothing has happened to persecute the rapists. Women have, or did have, a 8pm curfew. Unless they were trying to be titillating, they were helpful in the long run.
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I copped SO much abuse from friends on fb when I told them how I hunted a child down after school one day and made him say sorry for what I witnessed with school yard bullying , knowing I can’t confront them in the school yard . So I wont do it again .
I always take steps to report stuff to schools or the police. But then and there in the middle of the action . No I won’t help anyone or anyone else’s children.
Specially after having threats that if I confronted some children I would have the parents on my back.
And all I did was confront the child after following them 20 meters out side the school gate and made them say sorry and not to do it again.
Sometimes you can be held accountable of you step it .
And I don’t want that on my shoulders thanks
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Oh course you got abuse form your friends on Facebook. You ‘hunted’ a school child. Count yourself lucky you are a women because if you were an man you would be in awaiting trail.
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I’ve been a bystander, walked away and done nothing. It is not an easy decision, but sometimes you have to put your own safety first.
The circumstances were that I was in La Paz in Bolivia, walking down a street with a friend when we saw a woman roughly our age yelling with two men. She was covered in blood, although we couldn’t tell if it was hers or someone elses. We didn’t speak the language so we could tell if she was asking for help or fighting. We don’t know the police system there, or any emergency numbers. We didn’t know who she was, who the men were, anything about what was going on.
We looked at each other and without a word, just crossed the street and got away from the scene as fast as we could. To this day I wonder what had happened and what the outcome was but I know I did the right thing for me. With my limited knowledge, I could have ended up in a lot of trouble.
In regards to journalists in those situations, I feel it really is important that they are there and that they take the photos, because those images are what make changes. There are so many examples of famous images that have changed points of view. However in a case like the Indian one, how they couldn’t have pulled out a phone and called the police I don’t understand. There is a very big difference between stepping in and alerting authorities.
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The authorities in Assam are pretty piss-weak though. These journalists have done a lot for getting the rights of women in India in the news, more than what the police will do. Yes, it’s terrible for that individual victim. But the images are fuelling outrage and telling authorities that people won’t stand for this. The journalists also have to protect themselves from repercussions from the mob who attacked this girl. Police in India aren’t always exactly helpful in protecting informants.
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This is one of my units of study at high school – we kick off by studying the Pulitzer-prize winning photo by Kevin Carter and the impact of being a bystander:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kevin-Carter-Child-Vulture-Sudan.jpg
Carter came under immense fire for not helping the girl and ended up committing suicide. It doesn’t matter how many times I look at this shot, it breaks my heart every single time.
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No wonder the photographer was so traumatised. It’s hideous. Not sure I could do the job some of these journos are doing.
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That Radhika Chalasani quote and photograph are just heartbreaking.
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For every person you see suffering in a photo, there are thousands of others who are not photographed, who suffer the same fates. The journalist acts to shine light on these peoples’ plight. Saving one of thousands is still saving a life, but showing the world an issue they werent aware of or couldnt imagine the human side of, has the power to save many. Just photographing such things can be dangerous, they dont intervene because there is no way to prioritise. They have to prioritise telling the sufferer’s story
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“Is it ever justifiable to take a moment to record the situation before you take action to help?”
There’s a BIG difference between taking a moment to record what’s happening and get evidence of it, and filming a child being sexually assaulted by a large group of men for 45 minutes. Don’t we teach our children that to stand by and not do anything about another kid being bullied makes them just as complicit in the behaviour? That the only right thing to do is to intervene or get help? How is it any different?
All that is necessary for evil to to triumph is for good men to do nothing (Edmund Burke)
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This is a very similar discussion to that around the Pulitzer prize winning image from Kavin Carter of a vulture waiting for a starving child to die in Sudan, taken in March 1993. At the time there was huge backlash for not helping the girl get to the feeding centre that was nearby, and he did not know if she had lived or died. Sadly Carter took his own life a year after, from severe depression which was link to the things he witnessed as a photojournalist in Africa.
the morality of this issue for journalists is an important discussion, and needs to occur so that humanity continues to strive to be its best. To me though the tragic thing is that there is so much that occurs that is this devistating to see captured on film. These journalists are sometimes misguided, but are trying to report on the issues so that there is a greater awareness and a more moving portrayal of these things, so as to shift our perspective of the issues rather then it being yet another 30 second snipet on the news. That’s noble, and it seems that most struggle to live with what they witness and bring to our awareness. it’s not so simple to criticise their actions – I pity their plight in having to live with these things for the rest of their lives.
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That image broke my heart.
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Just a question, what stopped him from helping her after he took the image?
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Yes i’ve always wondered that myself too. I’d love to hear an answer to that one.
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I once sat in an entire lecture devoted to this topic. I believe it’s because the girl was outside of a refugee camp and the ‘rules’ were that if people couldn’t make it back on their own, they couldn’t come back. That said, she didn’t get out there on her own so it appears that someone took her out with them but didn’t bring her back. It’s terribly sad but only one of probably thousands of cases.
It’s an incredibly complex issue and I think it needs more than a 500 word (mostly quoted) article devoted to only one case before people form opinions on ethics in journalism.
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I remember reading a long article written by the photographer at the time the picture was published and I think he said the journalists had been advised not to go too close to the kids at the feeding centre, because they (the kids) were very weak and vulnerable to infections etc introduced by outsiders.
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And after he took the photo he went to get an aid worker.
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Surely you should consider in this circumstance the numbers as well. Isn’t an element of self-preservation allowed, whether or not you’re a journalist? There were two of them and up to 12 men attacking. Perhaps if there was only one or two men attacking the girl, there is more of an argument that the journalists should have intervened?
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I agree D, that’s what I think of when I see the Mob Attack photo as well.
If the photographer had intervened, he would have been just another victim. Two against twenty is pretty much the same as one against twenty
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In that case at least 1 of them should have run to get help, or called the police. Why did it take 45 minutes for her to get help? I understand in the moment it would be hard to make a split decision as to whether intervene or not, but they had 45 minutes to do something and they didn’t.
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I think it’s easy to say that you should intervene but it’s a difficult choice to make when in the situation. I always thought I would intervene, and sometimes I have, but sometimes I haven’t.
I was once at a train station when I was about 15 and a group of about 10 kids started attacking another kid. Honestly there was nothing I could do, these kids were bigger and stronger than me, and there were males and females in the group.I chose to put my own safety first. All I could do was call the police which I did.
To this day I still regret that I didn’t intervene but I don’t know what they would have potentially done to me. It may have been nothing but watching them, I doubt they would have left an intervening person alone.
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I agree. I always wondered why no one intervenes until this one time I saw a bunch of at least 5 aboriginal men and women yelling, pushing & stealing (he was selling the big issue) from a man in a wheelchair. I did not know what to do, I was stunned just watching thinking is this really happening? and then I decided the best thing to do was go to the nearest shop and ask them to call the police. as I was only 17 (and a girl) so if I even tried anything I’m certain I would have no chance if they attacked. I was so upset when I went back to check, the man in the wheelchair and the aboriginals were gone. I thought what if they had taken him away to finish him off or something?
and I just felt so terrible but I knew if I had intervened it was pretty likely they would attack me seeing as they’re such horrible people and would do that to a man in a WHEELCHAIR!
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This sounds like a frightening situation for you and you dealt with it in the best way possible.. But I wish you hadn’t added that the offenders were Aboriginal, it adds nothing to the story.
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Agree entirely. Also b, “Aboriginal” is an adjective not a noun. It’s either “Aboriginal people” or “Aborigines” or… maybe just “people” would do!
But that is a horrible situation to witness, I hope the victim was okay in the end.
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I’m sorry if it makes me a racist (although I dont think so as I have many friends from different countries)
honestly I just don’t know why I should pussyfoot about in case of offending someone… why should I be respectful by saying “people” when they did a terrible thing and I’ve only ever had negative experiences in their presence (this was not the first)? if I witness or am the victim of course my opinion of the race as a whole will be affected.
the difference between me and them is I typically keep my thoughts to myself (except online here) I would NEVER yell out racist things (like they do, I’ve been called a white “c___”) in public or purposely go out of my way to make complete strangers upset, scared (I saw a girl shoplift and she saw that I saw and she came out and yelling and followed me down the street) or uncomfortable (sitting right next to you on the bus and asking inappropriate questions when there are several free seats, or arguing loudly or fighting nearby). or even physically hurt someone (my friend was bashed for being white!).
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I have heard that its been found not a lot will be done in these instances unless more than 1 person in a crowd starts to draw attention to a crime/bad situation. Then, apparently more people will join in to help/stop the problem.
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I think bystanders do have a duty to help, although that can depend on the risk to themselves. If the journalists in the Indian story were concerned for their own safety, did they at least call police?
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Legally, they don’t. They’re only liable if they offer or try to assist, and then stop assisting. There is no liability attached to being a bystander.
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I think that’s only in Australia. Who knows what the bystander laws are in India?
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It is a difficult one. But journalists and photographers are often still putting themselves at risk by being in a dangerous situation in the first place – the photos they take go on bring worldwide attention to an issue.
Also, don’t underestimate the years and years of mental torment a photographer may face after they have been in a war zone or human tragedy type situation. Look at Kevin Carter – he covered the famine in Sudan and the brutality of the apartheid in South Africa in the lead up to the 1994 elections. He took his own life at the age of 33. In his suicide note he wrote, ‘I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses.’
I don’t think the rest of us should be too quick to judge.
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My childs school bullying policy states that bystanders that don’t intervene are equally guilty and are punished with the bullies. I think watching someone be attacted and not helping them makes you part of the problem and being a journalist shouldn’t give you a pass from that.
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I thought of that too kitty! But, my kids’ school policy says that people who walk away are NOT being enablers and NOT responsible in any way, even if they don’t intervene. You can’t expect somebody to put themselves in danger. That said, I couldn’t stop myself intervening to stop a child being hurt, no matter how many pointless the effort was.
They should ideally walk away and tell the teacher … but in the photos, I’m guessing the “teachers” or authorities were either busy dealing with hundreds of the same situations, or are plain apathetic
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I just commented about this . I had issues with a bully and apparently you can not tell child of in the school grounds . Because of the steps that may be taken against you .
The police told me that I can tell any child off . But parents of the kids think you have no right to step in and tell their child what not to do
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Kitty, I would question the school’s bullying policy in my humble opinion. I worked in schools, and never heard of bystanders being punished in the same manner as the bullies. What if one child brought a weapon to school? Is your child expected to choose between putting themselves in danger and being punished? I would personally tell students that i am teaching or working with to protect their own safety first, and alert staff to what is happening immediately. The onus should NEVER be on other students to break up a fight. Staff are there to protect students. Well, theoretically.
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I am presuming telling a teacher counts as intervention in Kitty’s school.
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