Some Guidelines: Covering Women

As early as 1993, the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, together with the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women, organized a workshop on reporting of crimes against women. Journalists and civic leaders who participated in that event drafted the following guidelines:

I. Consent: Recognize the victims’ right to decide whether to be identified or not.
1.    Withhold the identity of the victim and suspect (until indictment).
2.    Make sure the consent given is free and informed:
a.    do not assume consent until expressly given;
b.    determine if the victim is in the right mind to give consent; and
c.    broadcast journalists should take care that filming such crimes do not violate the above principle.

II. Images: Recognize the right to dignity of victims, even in death.
1.    Do not use photos of victims who are naked, scantily clad or in otherwise degrading states;
2.    Do not photograph or use photos of minors as victims or suspects;
3.    Use illustrations or line shots to visually supplement reportage;
4.    Do not trivialize the reality of violent crimes with the use of humor or cartoons;
5.    Do not place reports of violence next to pin-ups and other items which heighten their titillating value;
6.    Do not use photos or any visual depiction of the victims and the victim’s family by law enforcement agencies.

III. Reportage: Crimes of violence against women and children should be reported factually and seriously.
1.    Reporters should not use words or phrases which tend to pass judgment on the victim or suspect (e.g. pretty, sexy, former dancer, drug addict, etc.)
2.    Eliminate details/descriptions which tend to titillate readers/viewers and sensationalize the story or ridicule the victims;
3.    The general rule: do not use obscene, profane or vulgar terms in a story unless they are part of direct quotations and there is a compelling need to use them in completing the story.

(These guidelines were first published in the March 1994 issue of the Philippine Journalism Review.)

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