Electric Skies, in partnership with RUMEXR are the UK co-producers and distributors for Missing 10 Hours.
We invite you to join our mission to keep teenagers and young adults safe by reducing the Bystander Effect and speaking up against GHB, the date-rape drug.
M10H is a narrative VR project directed by Fanni Fazakas and produced by Noémi Veronika Szakonyi. In the multi-ending VR, the user can be the bystander (the buddy of the perpetrator), who can have an effect on the narrative. By consulting with psychologists and experts, we made sure that the experience is ethically correct and will have a measurable impact.
All of us are bystanders when we observe actions or situations that jeopardize one’s safety or well-being. In this VR experience, the visitor witnesses Mara, a 22-year-old woman gradually losing control of her actions. She has been unwillingly drugged with the date rape drug GHB, which is most frequently used for sexually motivated attacks. The power to change how the night unfolds is in the visitor’s hands. But will they stay on the ethical pathway if other characters reveal new possibilities?
GHB is colorless, odorless and it dissolves in a drink pretty easily.
It causes blackouts, wherein the victim loses control over their body and their actions, becoming completely defenseless.
GHB is often used for sexual assaults, robbery, or human and organ trafficking; and is one of the most common causes of drug-related deaths. A few drops of GHB can knock you out and steal an important part of human dignity, the ability to control your life and body.
The Bystander effect in ambigous party situations
If someone is hurt in the context of a party, not everyone reacts. People who are present in such a situation, but are not in the role of the aggressor or victim, they are considered to be bystanders.
There are three main types of bystanders: followers (assistants), who do not initiate, but take an active role in the bullying; behavior supporters (reinforcers), who support the bullying behavior (overtly or covertly, e.g. by turning a blind eye) but do not take an active role in the bullying; and behavior defenders, who dislike the bullying and try to help the target by intervening.
The socio-psychological interventions we intend to introduce with VR can lead to long-term behavioral changes as they contribute to an adaptive reinterpretation of various situations. If people can understand potentially dangerous social situations, they will become more active agents. The present situation is very specific about how to become an active agent in an emerging rape situation at a party and act appropriately to defend the victim, instead of being a passive bystander.
Help us Spread the Message
In order to raise awareness of GHB, sexual harassment, and bullying among youngsters, primarily between the ages of 16-26, we are looking for partners exhibit the VR experience. If you are a college, university, culutral space or community organisation and are interested in helping us educate young people of these dangers, please get in touch below;
