TELEVISION MISUSES CHILDREN

I wrote on Monday about how newspapers regularly misuse children in their reports and how reporters deny children their rights.

Newspapers are not the only culprits as this news report from Channel S (Channel Swazi) news shows.

I have some problems telling you about the story (which denied a child victim of rape her human rights) without committing the same gross errors as Channel S, but the basic details are these.

The main item on the news last Wednesday night (14 November 2007) was about some children who had been raped at a school. During the bulletin the reporter identified who the rapist was and interviewed one of the child victims. To protect her identity, the child had her face obscured by a black strip for most of the interview but she would have been clearly identifiable to anyone in her community (which was named) by her voice and the clothes she wore. But worse than this, because of a technical mistake the black strip on her face was removed before the end of the interview and her face was clearly visible on screen for several seconds.

Then it became clear that the police had not arrested or charged the man the news report had said was the rapist and it seemed had no intention of doing so.

To recap: Channel S falsely named a man as a rapist when he had not been convicted of the crime and identified and interviewed a child victim of rape.

The report violated the Swazi National Association of Journalists (SNAJ) Code of Conduct. By accusing the man of being a rapist Channel S broke Article 5 of the code, which states, ‘A journalist should guard against defamation, libel, slander and obscenity.’

Channel S may also have broken the same article which goes on the state, ‘A journalist shall seek consent of the survivor before taking pictures or conducting interviews with survivors of sexual offences. In cases of minors, the consent of their guardians shall be sufficient.’ We can’t be sure that the parents or guardian of the child who was interviewed gave consent. Certainly, no adult related to the child was featured in the news item.

Channel S broke Article 15 of the code which states, ‘Journalists shall avoid identifying survivors of sexual assault or give any information that may lead to the identification of the survivor.’ Channel S is guilty by interviewing the child on camera and showing her full face at the end of the interview. Even if the dreadful mistake of showing her face had not happened, the girl would still have been identifiable by her voice and clothing. Also, the item was recorded (not broadcast live) so there was an opportunity to correct the mistake before the news bulletin was aired.

So how should Channel S have reported the story? The station was perfectly within its rights to bring such an important crime as rape to the public’s attention, but it needed to do so without violating the rights of the child involved.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has developed guidelines to support media workers who have to deal with children and young people. The IFJ advocates media training to recognise that children’s rights are important and to reflect upon the social responsibilities they carry when they research, write and produce children’s stories. Media houses need to develop practical strategies for dealing with complex issues and keeping an appropriate balance between the protection of children’s rights and journalistic independence and freedom of expression.

The IFJ advocates media training, but the evidence so far in Swaziland suggests such an approach will have a limited impact. For example, a three-day workshop on responsible reporting of children was held in Swaziland for media practitioners and others. It received extensive coverage in the Swazi media and codes of practice were published, but the message has not travelled from the classroom to the newsroom.

See also
POOR PICTURE OF CHILDREN