'If You Witness Domestic Violence Call The Police, Rather Than Intervening Directly,' Says Charity | HuffPost Life

Should You Intervene If You Witness Domestic Violence?

Rachel Moss— The Huffington Post UK

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A Swedish social experiment aiming to explore how members of the public react to staged scenes of domestic violence has received over three million hits on YouTube and sparked international outrage on social media.

During the video, created by an organisation called STHLM Panda, a male actor swears at a female actor before physically abusing her.

Out of the 53 people who witnessed the staged incident, only one person directly intervened - the majority remained completely silent.

Konrad Ydhage, co-founder of STHLM Panda who acts in the video, told The Guardian: "We were expecting that about 50% would intervene.

"I was prepared to take a hit by the bigger lads who entered the lift. But sadly enough they walked out on the girl.”

Many people have expressed the opinion that it's "sad", "disturbing" and "disgusting" that only one person directly intervened.

But domestic violence charity, Woman's Aid, told HuffPost UK Lifestyle that directly intervening with such an incident is rarely the best way to help the situation.

“Domestic violence is very rarely a one-off incident - it’s a pattern of abusive behaviour, and if you see an attack it is likely that it has started before you see an incident and will almost certainly continue afterwards," Polly Neate, chief executive of Women’s Aid says.

"If you see an incident of domestic violence, always call the police rather than intervening, as it could put you directly at risk. It could also make the abuse worse, or if the victim is frightened of her abuser she may also turn against you out of fear."

She adds: "However, just because we would advise not becoming directly involved doesn’t mean you should ignore it. By reporting domestic violence, you still have an important role to play.”

Government figures show that an estimated 1.2 million women and 800,000 men are victims of domestic violence each year.

But if you witnessed an incident of domestic violence on the street, would you intervene? Let us know in the comments below.

20 Countries That Don't Outlaw Domestic Violence

Algeria(01 of20)

An Algerian woman looks at the headlines of newspapers at a news stand in Algiers, Algeria, Thursday, June 13, 2013.(AP Photo/Sidali Djarboub) (credit:AP)

Armenia(02 of20)

A picture taken on November 19, 2013, shows a woman with child walking past a building left half destroyed by the 1998 devastating earthquake in Gyumri, the second largest city in Armenia, around 125 km ( miles) north of Yerevan. (KAREN MINASYAN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Burkina Faso(03 of20)

A woman waits on January 25, 2014 to see an ophthalmologist in Leo, Burkina Faso. (LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Cameroon(04 of20)

A woman walks in a street of Douala, Cameroon on December 3, 2013. (FRED DUFOUR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Congo(05 of20)

Democratic Republic of Congo Fardc regular army soldiers sit at the back of a pick-up truck as they head towards the Mbuzi hilltop, near Rutshuru, on November 4, 2013, after the army recaptured the area from M23 rebels. (Junior D. Kannah/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Ivory Coast(06 of20)

A hairdresser braids a woman hair at a salon on July 17, 2013 in a popular area of Abidjan, Ivory Coast. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Egypt(07 of20)

Women walk under a placard bearing the portrait of Egypt's army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a street in the northern port city of Alexandria, on January 31, 2014. (STR/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Haiti(08 of20)

A woman walk past a wall displaying Haitian paintings for sale on a street of Petion-Ville, Port au Prince, February 6, 2014. (HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Iran(09 of20)

Iranian women visit the shrine of the founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini on February 1, 2014 at Khomeini's mausoleum in a suburb of Tehran during the festivities marking the 35th anniversary of his return from exile. (ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Latvia(10 of20)

A woman sells traditional grass compositions and wreaths at a Grass Fair in Riga on June 22, 2010. (ILMARS ZNOTINS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)

Kenya(11 of20)

Women from the Rendile tribe (C) and Turkana tribe (L) dance during a ceremony in the Sibiloi national Park in the Turkana region on November 2, 2013. (CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Lebanon(12 of20)

A woman walks through a poor neighborhood with a high concentration of Syrian refugees on June 30, 2013 in Beirut, Lebanon. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Lesotho(13 of20)

Basotho women from the Mokhotlong district pose for a photograph in the mountains ahead of the opening ceremony of the new Sentebale Mateanong Herd Boy School on October 14, 2013 in Mokhotlong, Lesotho. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Mali(14 of20)

People smoke cigarettes to celebrating the liberation on January 29, 2013 in Ansongo, a town south of the northern Malian city of Gao, as Niger troops entered the city. (KAMBOU SIA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Niger(15 of20)

A woman in Niger digs on May 28, 2012 a trench to collect rainwater near the village of Tibiri in the southern Zinder region. (ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/GettyImages) (credit:Getty Images)

Pakistan(16 of20)

Pakistani residents walk with a child along a street in Rawalpindi on January 18, 2014. (FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Russian Federation(17 of20)

A woman enjoys the weather along the Black sea on day six of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on February 13, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)

Syria(18 of20)

A Syrian woman walks with her child in the Baba Amr neighborhood of the central Syrian city of Homs on February 11, 2013. (SARKIS KASSARJIAN/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Uzbekistan(19 of20)

An Uzbek woman begs sitting on the steps in front of the central mosque Kukaldosh in Tashkent, 21 May 2005. AFP PHOTO / DENIS SINYAKOV (Photo credit should read DENIS SINYAKOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty)

Yemen(20 of20)

Yemeni women attend the showing of a film in Sanaa March 3, 2014 about 'child brides.'(MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

SEE ALSO:
Domestic Violence Against Men: Why We Need To Pay More Attention To Vulnerable Male
Topshop Fetishises Domestic Violence With Their New Jewellery Collection
ManKind's Domestic Violence Video Shows The Double Standards Between Male And Female Victims

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uk lifestyle uk lifestyle news domestic violence domestic abuse violence against women

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