Trigger warning: child sexual abuse
The media has always played a vital role in giving attention to important social issues, like child sexual abuse (CSA). When such a thing happens, many a times, police stations use to refuse to report the case, but when it comes to light of media, things get easier, or should we say worse?
In 2017, in Chennai, a 7-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and murdered by a neighbour called Dhasvanth. The techie was also accused of burning her body. When the news of the crime came to light, the survivor’s name and smiling face were splashed across newspapers, digital news outlets, and television news.
Some even played the visuals of her charred body.
Couple Lose Daughter And Peace Of Mind
“Some media reports suggested that we had gone shopping, leaving her alone,” recalled Rajesh, her father. “We had actually left her in the care of some neighbors there, who also have children. She said she wanted to play with them while we went to get vegetables nearby. He (Dhasvanth) lured her away with a dog he had got recently,” he added.
“Do you know that I would sit behind her till 1 a.m. in the night to make sure that mosquitoes didn’t bite her?” he asked. “My wife sacrificed her career to be at home with the kids. And yet, the media wrote we went shopping, we went for a movie and left her!” he added.
“They flashed her photo everywhere,” he said. “Every parent, every father wants to see his daughter’s photo in the papers… for having done something good. I was very hurt when I watched her photos appear like this. It wasn’t what I had dreamed for her,” he added.
The pain was clearly visible in the words of the deceased’s father. No doubt the media always tries to play a in educating the society, but it can also harm people’s privacy.
Personal Details Shouldn’t Be Revealed
The law, under Section 228A of the IPC (Indian Penal Code), mandates that identities of victims of sexual assault, including minors, be withheld by the media.
Under Section 23(2) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) as well, the media is barred from disclosing details like the child’s name, address, photographs, family details, school, neighbourhood, or any other particulars, that may lead to the disclosure of the identity of the child.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), in collaboration with Prasar Bharati and UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund), has framed a set of guidelines to assist the media in reporting cases of CSA.
The Survivor Shouldn’t Be Retraumatised
The guidelines aim to sensitise, equip and empower the media to play a more active and catalytic part in promoting children’s rights, particularly the right to protection; and to develop a clearer understanding of existing legislation to combat child sexual abuse.
Releasing the guidelines, the chairperson of the NHRC, (retired) justice JS Verma said:
“Every time the name of a child is mentioned in respect of such a case, the crime occurs again, and the victim goes through the trauma once more. Care must thus be taken to report with far greater sensitivity than is the case at present.”
He added that, “The purpose of the guidelines was to lay down certain norms and parameters, which should be kept in mind by the media while reporting on instances of child sexual abuse.”
Guidelines To Be Followed By The Media
- The media should bring the issue of child sexual abuse into the realm of public knowledge and public debate. It is important that the issue of sexual abuse is presented as a serious violation of rights, not only as an offense against children.
- The media should, through sensitive and meaningful projection and coverage of the issue, be instrumental in creating a sense of moral indignation and outrage over incidents of child sexual abuse. The media should also take care to ascertain the facts, context, and circumstances. A report on such sensitive issues should not be filed based on superficial interviews with persons supposedly witnesses to the incident.
- The media should desist from the temptation to sensationalize or exaggerate a particular incident of child abuse.
- When media reports an incident of sexual abuse it should also report subsequently on actions taken by concerned authorities and continue to report till action is taken to punish the abusers.
- The media should not unwittingly glorify the act of sexual abuse by giving undue prominence to the perpetrator.
- The victim should not be further victimised or made to relive the trauma they have been through.
- Under no circumstances should the media disclose or reveal the identity of the victim. Masking techniques should be used wherever the victim is made to give a first-person account of their experience. The victim, relatives, and concerned persons must be assured of confidentiality.
- Media should not create a prurient interest in the sexuality of the child by image or innuendo.
- The child should not come across as a passive entity.
- Besides drawing attention to the problem of child sexual abuse, the media also needs to enlighten the public as to what can be done to prevent such incidents, and what needs and must be done if such an incident has taken place, including providing information on legal or other remedies.
- The media should provide its target audience with full knowledge about the rights of the child, and the legal remedies available to a child in the unfortunate event of a case of child sexual abuse occurring.
- The media needs to develop a system wherein viewers/audience can comment on and evaluate the quality and impact of the programs being aired and telecast.
- The media should document and widely disseminate Best Practices on prevention of child sexual abuse, action taken against abusers, work of selected NGOs, etc.
In all reporting, the media must be guided by the principle of the “best interest of the child”, as required under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Train And Sensitise Journalists
According to Arun Rai, resident editor of the Times of India, “The solution is to train the journalist with a genuine interest in the field. If you look at the landscape of journalism, on child sexual abuse, it has been written by people who have an inherent interest in writing about it. It’s true for any other field.”
Sooner, or later we have to come up with solutions to such problems. It is important to note that if one ever comes across such instances, one should report it to the child helpline number (1098).
Remember, our silence can add to the pain of the children!
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REFERENCES
Sensational stories, rare follow ups: Media coverage of child sexual abuse needs change. The News Minute.