Don’t share abuse video

THOSE who have seen the video of the four-year-old girl being abused by her mother are appalled and want justice. The woman and her boyfriend, who appears to have also physically abused the child, have been arrested, appeared in court, and bail – which was initially granted – has been revoked.

The justice system is at work and we must allow it to take its course, however long it takes.

We can, and should, express outrage at the abuse depicted.

What we should not do is share the video, or any picture of the child which makes it possible to identify her.

First, it is unlawful. You may not share pictures of a child – anyone under the age of 18 – who is a victim of a crime, sexual or otherwise.

You may also not share their address, name or pictures of their parents, or any other information which makes it possible to identify the child.

This is the law. If you have the video and/or the child’s picture stored on your phone, do her – and yourself – a favour and delete it.

SECOND, we have no idea what the future holds for her, but we are certain she will not want to be reminded years later of the trauma she suffered at her mother’s hands and feet, reminded by people who stared ghoulishly at the video of her beating and who know her identity.

It is not necessary for you to see the video to be outraged; it is enough to be told or to read that it happened.

Sharing or viewing it only compounds the abuse; it does not diminish it or help the situation in any way.

In fact, in this instance the situation has been made worse: because the mother’s boyfriend’s identity was disclosed, his car was torched by vigilantes.

This was not some act of heroism or justice; it was cowardly and criminal. If caught, whoever was responsible for doing so faces jail time.

Let us not pretend to be moral and incensed on the one hand, and then be hypocrites and commit a crime on the other.