An Assaulted Teen Was Found in a Bush. No One Helped Her, But Everyone Filmed Her.

Police in the Indian city of Kannauj are on the lookout for an unknown man for allegedly raping a teenage girl. At least one woman is raped every 16 minutes in India. This time, the country was shaken by videos that went viral of a 13-year-old survivor lying in a field desperate for help – being filmed by dozens of men with mobile phones.

On Sunday, police found the girl on the streets barely conscious and bleeding profusely after a series of her videos reaching out to bystanders were shared. One video viewed by VICE World News shows the girl holding up her arm asking for help as people – all men – stood by and took videos of her from all angles. Some could be heard in the video asking if the cops had been called. 

In another video that also went viral, a policeman is seen reaching the spot and rushing the girl to hospital in an auto rickshaw. 

India consistently ranks high among the most dangerous countries in the world for women. The latest crime statistics released by the government shows that Uttar Pradesh state, which includes Kannauj, has the highest crime rates against women. Gender-based violence intersects with the culture of internet virality in the country that has the world’s second largest social media user base. Videos of sexual assault or that of victims and survivors trigger outrage not just over the violence but also for bystander apathy in India. 

Harish Shetty, an Indian psychiatrist whose work looks into the bystander effect from a mental health point of view, told VICE World News that the “disease of dehumanisation” towards acts of violence has been exacerbated by the obsession to go viral. In August, a woman burnt to death after being set ablaze by her stalker. People filmed her instead of rushing her to hospital. 

“The acts of bystanders is an extension of cruelty and violence that has existed for centuries,” said Shetty. “Dehumanisation was already a part of the Indian psyche. This incident reflects how normal it is now to stop and take videos rather than save the girl.”

The police in Kannauj confirmed the authenticity of the viral videos, and said the girl is currently recovering in a hospital. They’re still on the lookout for the perpetrator. 

On Tuesday, the Uttar Pradesh police registered a complaint based on the survivor’s parents’ statements. The police report states that the young girl left her home on Sunday morning to go to the market close by and didn’t come home. By evening, she was found in the bushes near a guest house owned by the government. 

The family, in their statement, allege that she was lured by a stranger who then sexually assaulted her. When she resisted, he attempted to bludgeon her head and then fled the scene. The police recovered the brick used to hit the girl, and are currently reviewing CCTV footage of the area to locate the attacker.

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