Just Watching Is the Same as Abusing

Hrabri Telefon — Just Watching Is the Same as Abusing

In The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the legendary book by Douglas Adams, one of the characters defines SEP or Somebody Else’s Problem field as: “…something we can’t see, or don’t see, or our brain doesn’t let us see, because we think that it’s somebody else’s problem. The brain just edits it out, it’s like a blind spot.” Can abuse hide behind such a problem field?

I’d Rather Not Get Involved

Child abuse happens daily, often in front of observers. Unfortunately, even with witnesses, it often goes by unreported. Even though abuse is recognized as socially unacceptable, for a variety of reasons (fear, the path of least resistance, “it’s none of my business”), witnesses often look the other way. It was them specifically that we wanted to warn that just standing by, and watching the vicious circle of abuse takes place, is almost equally damaging as the actual abuse.

Light at the End of the Tunnel

Great campaigns help but sometimes people need to be…. enlightened. Using a classic medium and a simple intervention, people passing by becoming participants and suddenly face the consequences of ignoring the problem: if you just stand there watching, it’s as if you are abusing!