See the Triumph
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • See the Triumph Collections
  • Participate in Our Research
  • Volunteer with See the Triumph
  • The Origins of See the Triumph
  • About our Research
  • Terms of Use
  • Resources for more Information
  • See the Triumph Workbooks
  • See the Triumph Healing Arts Workshops
  • See the Triumph Survivor Advocacy Training Program
  • Contact Us

Advocating For Safe, Responsible Reporting About Domestic Violence

11/25/2014

 
By Christine Murray, See the Triumph Co-Founder

If you’re like me, sometimes you’ve read or seen a story about domestic violence in the media, and it’s made you cringe because of how the story was reported or the misinformation it included. Or maybe you’ve also experienced stronger reactions, such as outrage and anger. Chances are, if you’re informed about the dynamics of domestic violence and you care about the issue, you’ve noticed examples of irresponsible--and possibly even unsafe--media reporting about the issue. Examples of practices that I consider to be irresponsible reporting include providing incorrect information about the dynamics of abusive relationships, framing stories in ways that blame victims, and providing details in stories that could pose safety risks for victims.

You can take action to prevent problematic reporting, correct misinformation that is conveyed, and work proactively to promote safe, responsible media reporting about domestic violence. These steps include the following:

  1. If you see a media story that treats the issue of domestic violence in an irresponsible or unsafe way, communicate with the news outlet to let them know your concerns. For example, if it’s a newspaper story, consider writing about your concerns in a Letter to the Editor, or even in a direct message via e-mail to the paper’s editor. Many media outlets now make reporters’ e-mail addresses publicly available on their web-sites, and so a message to that reporter can help educate them about domestic violence and provide your suggestions for reporting future stories in a more responsible manner.

  2. If you are being interviewed for a story about domestic violence, then ask the reporter if they will share the story with you before it’s released to the public. In my experience, sometimes this is a possibility, and other times, it’s not. However, it never hurts to ask! If you have concerns that anything you said might take on a different meaning if it’s taken out of context, share your concerns with the reporter after the interview. Take some time after the interview to talk with the reporter about the importance of contextual information in domestic violence cases, as well as about the safety issues that surround this issue. You can use an interview as an opportunity to educate reporters on how to engage in more responsible reporting practices in their future stories about the issue.

  3. If you see dangerous practices that pose safety risks to victims and survivors, work with others to challenge these practices and move toward more safe reporting. For example, I recently heard about a local newspaper in one community that regularly publishes details about victims from the local police blotter that could identify the victims to members of the community, even if the victims’ names are not revealed. When dangerous media reporting practices like this are happening, there is strength in numbers. I believe the best way to address these issues is to collaborate with a variety of community stakeholders (e.g., professionals from domestic violence agencies, law enforcement officials, survivors, and even state-level domestic violence coalitions) to put forth a strong message about the need to discontinue these practices. Each stakeholder can communicate the reasons why these practices are unsafe from their own perspective, and as a group, everyone can develop a set of suggested new practices for the media outlet to adopt. Individual actions are also important, but when safety issues are at stake, it’s especially valuable to build a strong community coalition to ensure that the media understands the need to protect the safety of survivors of domestic violence.

I believe that most reporters who engage in irresponsible reporting about domestic violence do so because they don’t fully understand the dynamics of abusive relationships, and therefore they don’t necessarily see how their practices are irresponsible, or even unsafe. Their expertise and training may not have covered the topic of domestic violence at all, and they were trained to use conventional media and reporting skills, not necessarily to apply those skills to every unique issue they cover in their reporting. They often face practical constraints that would prevent them from addressing the issue of domestic violence in ways that advocates would view as ideal--especially given the time and space limitations of many media stories.

Therefore, whenever possible, I suggest that advocates for raising awareness about domestic violence in local communities work proactively, over time to build relationships with reporters and others (e.g., administrators and news directors). With strong relationships with members of the media in your communities, you can work together to learn about the nature of each other’s work, as well as to develop strategies to have domestic violence be covered in safe, responsible ways in your community.

Comments are closed.

    Archives

    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    About Intimate Partner Violence
    About Intimate Partner Violence
    Advocacy
    Ambassadors
    Children
    Churches
    College Campuses
    Cultural Issues
    Domestic Violence Awareness Month
    Financial Recovery
    How To Help A Friend
    Human Rights
    Human-rights
    Immigrants
    International
    Media
    Overcoming Past Abuse
    Overcoming-past-abuse
    Parenting
    Prevention
    Resources For Survivors
    Safe Relationships Following Abuse
    Schools
    Selfcare
    Self-care
    Sexual Assault
    Sexuality
    Social Justice
    Social-justice
    Stigma
    Supporting Survivors
    Survivor Quotes
    Survivor-quotes
    Survivor Stories
    Teen Dating Violence
    Trafficking
    Transformative-approaches

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • See the Triumph Collections
  • Participate in Our Research
  • Volunteer with See the Triumph
  • The Origins of See the Triumph
  • About our Research
  • Terms of Use
  • Resources for more Information
  • See the Triumph Workbooks
  • See the Triumph Healing Arts Workshops
  • See the Triumph Survivor Advocacy Training Program
  • Contact Us