When writing about cases of sexual violence, the journalists should start from the presumption that any human being can be a victim of sexual abuse and this type of offense is a social problem, not an individual one. The journalists should protect the identity of the victim by not publishing the name or information that can help reveal the identity. Such recommendations can be found an in guidebook that was compiled by the Press Council to assist journalists to more correctly cover cases of sexual violence, IPN reports.
The authors urge the journalists to respect the person’s dignity and not to relate details that could affect intimacy. They should avoid interviewing the victims so as not to generate new emotional traumas and should prudently use videos from the police showing interviews with victims as the letter could have opposed the filming of the related traumatizing moments.
The Press Council said a part of the Moldovan media outlets, especially the news ones, often neglect the rules of covering subjects about rape, sexual abuse and sexual harassment. The pictures are insufficiently blurred and the victims can be recognized. The articles are accompanied by sensational details that have no informative value or provide no information of public interest.
According to specialists of the Center “La Strada”, who are quoted in the guidebook, there are stereotypic approaches that are often met in society and the mass media. Among these are that “the victim bears a part of the blame in sexual offenses”, “if the victim was inebriated or was in the company of the rapist, this had sex voluntarily” and others.
Guidebook author Viorica Zaharia analyzed several cases covered with deviations from the deontological norms and formulated a series of self-control questions that will help the journalists to treat the case correctly, to use suitable words and to avoid useless details. “The journalists should ask themselves such questions as: What can happen to the victim when the article is published? How will this feel if he/she reads the article? How will the people close to this feel?”
