Media reporting on child homicide victims: consultation - easy read

Changing the law

We could change the law. This would mean that there would be anonymity for child homicide victims. We would make new rules if the law was changed.

Start of anonymity

One rule is about when anonymity would start. Some people have told us that this should be from when the child dies. This is because it would stop the child’s name being reported at all.

This might be difficult. The police might not find out that a crime has been committed until later. This would mean anonymity could only start when the police decide that a crime has led to the child’s death.

There are also difficulties in missing person cases. Sharing information about a missing child can help find them. But if the child is found to be a homicide victim, their identity will already have been made public.

Another option is for anonymity to start when criminal proceedings start. Criminal proceedings start when a person is charged with a crime. This also covers the court case.

This would mean the family are protected during a time when there will be a lot of public interest in the case. But the child’s identity may already have been shared.

We need to think about how the public will know when criminal proceedings start. The media might understand this but people who share information on social media may not.