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In the press release issued by the Press Council, it is also recommended that journalists and media outlets avoid sensationalism, which highlights violent actions aimed at humiliating the person.
The self-regulatory body issued this appeal as a result of the fact that the news portal Telegraph.md published on November 5 a news story about physical aggression and alleged rape by a group of people on a 16-year-old girl in Ialoveni district.
Telegraph.md also published mobile phone footage of violent scenes, where the faces of protagonists were blurred.
According to the portal, the video footage was sent to Telegraph.md by a young woman who presented herself as a friend of the victim.
The General Police Inspectorate also informed, in a press release on November 5, that this case took place in the night of October 24 to 25, 2017 in Ialoveni district and that the police were notified on November 4 by a citizen who sent a video with the violence mentioned above.
Later on, several TV stations and news portals from Moldova delivered news about this case.
The Press Council drew attention to the fact that in the published footage, scenes were revealed in which a person – in the given case, a minor – was subjected to degrading and humiliating treatment that affects her human dignity.
“Besides the fact that the manner in which this case of abuse was presented contravenes the standards of professional journalistic ethics and of quality in the field, it can emotionally affect both children and adults,” says the press release of the organization.
Also, according to the Press Council, video footage has been broadcast even in daylight hours, and the Law on protection of children against the negative impact of information prohibits broadcasting, in the time interval of 6.00 – 23.00, materials that show “a) physical, mental or language violence repeatedly; b) scenes involving sex and obscene language or behavior; c) persons in degrading conditions.”
At the same time, the Press Council recommends journalists and media outlets:
- to avoid sensationalist approach, in which violent actions directed towards the humiliation of person are revealed, to the detriment of providing correct and complete information to the public;
- not to broadcast footage and not to share details that affect human dignity (of the victim);
- to take into account the best interests of the child victim of abuse;
- to appeal to the Code of Conduct of the Journalist of Moldova, to the guides of good practice in the field and to psychologists, child rights specialists or media experts, when they have dilemmas related to the media coverage of the case.
