DURBAN - Days before South Africa marks 16 days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children, a video of a pregnant Durban woman being assaulted went viral.
The one-minute and 52-second video showing an altercation involving two women and a man in uMhlanga was widely shared this week.
In it, one alleges she’s pregnant with the man’s child, in front of the other woman, allegedly his other lover.
An extramarital affair is claimed.
After an argument, the pregnant woman tells the man: “Look at you. You can’t support your child. You cannot accept I’m pregnant with your child and everybody should know.”
Following her comments, towards the end of the clip, the man punches the pregnant woman continuously.
Since the video went viral, there has been intensified calls from the public on social media for the man to face the consequences of his actions.
Several memes revealing the man’s identity, with captions related to the incident, have also circulated on social media.
On the alleged perpetrator's Facebook page, he said this week he would like to thank the person who recorded the video of the incident and posted it on social media as it had made him famous.
His comments sparked further public outrage.
Prenisha Pather commented on Facebook: “To abuse a pregnant woman in public is a serious offence. Too many women are abused in their own homes and choose to be quiet. #StopWomenAbuse”.
Another Facebook user, Kuraisha Chetty, said the man was “disgraceful”.
“No respect for women and she’s pregnant. As for the other woman, she has no self-respect. I just pray the baby is okay. He should be locked up.”
On the Sunday Tribune Herald’s Facebook page, Levi Singh said tougher sentences and consequences were urgently needed.