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Homestretch Avenue, D’ Urban Park, Georgetown. Guyana. S. A
15 January, 2007
Help & Shelter has read with interest the discussion and comments surrounding the case of the 13 year old girl who had given birth to a baby who had been allegedly kidnapped, then found and returned to her mother.
Stabroek News ran an editorial castigating agencies for not raising their voices or taking any action, yet reported in the same issue that the Ministry of Human Services was in fact in the process of taking action! How many people will have read (and been influenced by) the prominent editorial compared with the small article in the back page?
All agencies who work in the social sector deal with challenging, sensitive and difficult cases and while we at Help & Shelter support the exposure of all cases of abuse, it is important to remember that within this exposure there is the life of a human being. How many of us would want our picture or the picture of our sister, friend or niece in the media in this way? If she is indeed a victim of abuse, then the law states clearly that the identity of the victim must not be disclosed. Here we have not only the identity but also the picture of the possible victim in full public view. There need to be standards for the media in responsible reporting.
Help & Shelter has voiced its criticism before about the media coverage of sexual abuse cases, some of which our court support counsellors are/have been involved in.
Our experience and research has shown that media exposure is a major deterrent for survivors/victims reporting or following through with criminal sexual abuse matters. Would editors or reporters like to see the sexual details of abuse of their family members exposed in such a way? Please keep this in mind the next time you report any such case.
We would like to remind the Stabroek News that there are and have been many cases in which numerous people have been helped through the very difficult process of changing behaviour and/or getting redress for the abuse they have suffered by Help & Shelter and other social service agencies. The big difference here is that as social workers and counsellors, we recognise that rules of confidentiality are essential for the benefit of the survivors. Your assumption that nothing is being done is just that: an assumption.