This Man Pretended to Abuse His Girlfriend in Public — Watch How People Reacted

Impact

If you witnessed domestic abuse in public, would you do something? 

Many people simply wouldn't. That's the takeaway from a new video produced by Swedish prank and "social experiment" group STHLM Panda. The video shows a male actor pretending to abuse a female actor in an elevator, both physically and verbally in front of other passengers.

Mashable reports that the video's creators claim only one of the 53 people who were faced with the situation actually intervened. Toward the end, a woman speaks up: "If you touch her, I'm going to call the police." The other bystanders ignored the confrontation, with one woman even asking the couple to stop fighting until she's exited the elevator.

"This isn't a PSA about a sexual assault," says Mad Men actor John Hamm. "It's about being the guy who stops it."

If the Swedish social experiment is anything to judge, we've got work to do.