A screengrab of the CCTV footage that shows the husband hitting the wife.TECHNOLOGY has made life so much easier for the human race. We have come a long way since the days of the telegram and snail mail. Just as ‘with great power comes great responsibility’, technology carries the same need.
While it was more difficult for the public to broadcast information in the past, that no longer applies in today's world of instant sharing courtesy of social networks. Be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare or blogs, sharing has been made easy.
Perhaps too easy.
Yesterday, social media went ballistic over a series of horrific videos posted by a 19-year-old woman from Ipoh on her Facebook account. The videos, uploaded on Aug 30, showed her receiving a beating at the hands of her husband.
The three videos were captured via her shop’s CCTV camera.
In her note accompanying the videos, the woman, allegedly two months pregnant, wrote that she uploaded the videos to defend her rights.
Earlier, on August 23, she had uploaded several photos of physical injuries her husband allegedly inflicted upon her. The photos and videos have since gone viral, with thousands of ‘shares’.
The online community have also been quick to voice their opinion on the matter, with an overwhelming majority slamming the man’s ‘animalistic’ behaviour. Many have also expressed concern for the woman’s well-being and urged to her to lodge a police report.
As concerned citizens, many of us are quick to share these stories, and even quicker to play judge, jury and executioner. Perhaps our society has a slight inclination towards the ‘Judge Dredd Method’: Forget the courts, we've seen the evidence therefore we can conclude who is guilty and who is the victim.We are the law.
In the case of this woman, the videos are as solid a proof of domestic abuse as any. It is clear that the man seen in the footage captured from the security camera was beating and abusing the woman. No matter what the back story is, it is never right to hit your wife (or vice versa).
However one question remains debatable. How far should we use social networks for matters of this nature? Would it be better to let the police handle the case? Or should we resort to public persecution? Which would be the ethical way to handle this?
Some would argue saying that these unwarranted behaviours should be made public. The rakyat has to know. But the question is, what purpose would that serve? Perhaps humiliation is the best kind of revenge.
In my online research regarding this incident, I even came across a blog that revealed the husband’s license plate number. Some of the postings have even been confrontational in nature, urging the husband to come out and explain himself, not to mention threats to mete out the same treatment he had given his wife.
It is only natural for the public to react this way, especially when they feel a wrong has been committed. But logic dictates that vigilantism in the form of threats, forming gangs to ‘be on the lookout’ for this person as well as disclosure of personal details isn’t necessary, especially when the guilty party isn’t even on the run. This is a case for the authorities to handle, and they know best.
Of course, we then have the flip side to this. We should share if the suspect is evading the police. We should share if it can serve as a lesson to be learnt for the public. The list goes on.
Sharing on social networks pose a lot of questions that have mostly gone unanswered. The best is for us to ask ourselves, what purpose will this serve? How far should we go? Where do we draw the line?
- mD
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