The Media and Domestic Violence, The Thin Line Between Comess/Gossip and News.
It is said that Randy Cohen once explained that although gossip and news can both be factual the difference between them boils down to ethics and intentions. Is the information going to help or do harm? If it is going to help then consider it news, if not consider it to be gossip.
It is beyond sad that it often takes a thing happening to us, for us to see how badly it can affect someone.
When women, men, or children fall victim to domestic violence, every body becomes curious; people start asking, who, when, how, and why. It saddens me when the media is over zealous in answering these questions. That a crime has been committed is one thing, that the victims direct and indirect should be further victimized is another. I can't help but to think that when we 'run' with these stories we often put the life of the victim in further jeopardy.
Insensitivity seems to be a plague.
A plague that is crippling our sense of reasoning and good will towards our fellow man.
Why should a victim, and their family be exposed to further victimization by having their faces and entire life story painted in the sky?
No doubt that in every instance of domestic violence there is a story to be told, but how do we tell that story. We the general public are given so much information at times that at the end of the day it seems to be nothing short of comess. It is commendable that some media houses see domestic violence as great a crime as any other, but sadly that is not enough...these stories for want of a better word are delicate matters and should be treated that way also. The last thing any news article should be is a public announcement to the attacker saying; "Hey the job wasn't done, you can find them at (Insert name of medical facility)". We honestly see nothing wrong with giving the location of victims?
Allow victims to tell their stories, if they wish to do so.
I am strongly against photos and the printing of names (I think most professors who teach Ethics would agree), and so I can not support the argument that to not print names and photos is to dehumanize the victim or normalize the crime. There is nothing normal about attacking another human being, their names, names of their children and or parents, place of work...are not needed for me to feel empathy.
When are we going to learn that good reporting covers far more than the 6 w's (or the 5 w's and the h if you wish).
I guess being socially responsible is not to be considered when reporting instances of domestic violence.
...
I decided to do a little research of my own because I figured someone somewhere must have written a guideline on how these incidents are to be reported; there are actually quite a few available online. I found one written for media workers in New Zealand (tried to find one 'Caribbean specific, if you know of any please send me the link but I shall keep looking).
Below is an excerpt from the file and the link to the original post.
Tips for reporting
domestic violence incidents/
murders/court cases Click here to go to the original post
• identify the murder/incident as domestic violence
• place it in the context of local and national statistics and recent events
o this was the fifth domestic murder this year
o 10 children die in domestic incidents each year
o half NZ’s murders are domestic violence
o the victim had a protection order
o xxxx protection orders were granted in xxxx last year
• provide information about the nature of domestic violence
o domestic violence is a pattern of behaviour
o domestic violence is never an isolated incident
o domestic violence intensifies in frequency and severity over time
o the 18 months following separation is the most dangerous time for victims of
domestic violence, most murders happen in this period
o physical violence is usually accompanied by psychological, emotional,
financial abuse and sexual abuse of women and girls is common.
• use experts as sources
o domestic violence experts say this is a common scenario
o perpetrators of domestic violence commonly present a charming and likeable
face to the world
o if you are worried about your safety or someone else’s contact xxx
• name family violence as a crime
o domestic/family violence is a crime
o it’s against the law
o give the legal definition
o ask police if there was domestic violence
o ask police if the victim had a protection order
o ask police if there had been breaches of the protection order.
After reading this a few questions popped into my head.
- Are journalists in my homeland just too lazy to write stories, so that the village gossip is sufficient for print and television?
- What exactly is their intention when they report on cases of domestic violence?
- Is it to help curb the problem or just to give long life to comess?
- Do they believe that victims should be protected from the viciousness of the general public, and their attackers?
- Do they actually gain consent from victims before printing their names and photos or Facebook has now made this unnecessary?
- Are journalists more concerned about protecting perpetrators or shielding themselves against wrongful accusation suits than anything else?
- ...
I also found a story in which the author advocates the printing of names of "victims" (he didn't state whether "victims" included survivors) but I care not to share that with you, let him fight his own battle.
What do you think- Should victims remain anonymous unless they state a desire not to be?
Not so random quote: "violence against women is widespread and demands a public health response." WHO
Posts
You raise some important points here. However, the fact that you noted that people want to know "who, when, how, and why" shows that such incidents constitute news. It is true that there could be more sensitivity with the way that incidences of domestic violence are reported. Nonetheless, we cannot import wholesale the practices of other local. Journalism as as much an international profession as it is a local one.
Thanks for the comment Xavier ...One would think that when these incidents take place in small societies such as ours greater care would be taken. In larger societies people find it easier to re-locate and start over- to ensure their safety and that of their family members, how tragic then that in small societies where relocation might not even be an option the media exposes them to further danger. As I stated there are items that are news worthy in these incidents, however domestic violence should be treated with a greater level of sensitivity , there is no need to answer all of the w's. A good journalist, a responsible journalist, would be able to write a story without endangering a victim already fighting for their life.
Possible topics " Why don't our Caribbean Men mentor young men in their villages, towns, cities".
If we don't there will be no young men left to take charge of our future. Don't let the drug dealers be the only father those young men know and have reached out to them.