Media reporting on child homicide victims: consultation analysis

Reflections on current reporting approaches

Question 1: Please share any thoughts you have on how the media currently reports on child homicides.

28 respondents responded to this question directly. Other respondents answered this question in comments made throughout their response. The most commonly raised theme was the detrimental impact media coverage has on bereaved families.

A large number of comments were also received relating to problematic behaviour of the media, particularly the press, and the manner/tone of reporting. However some respondents, particularly those from media organisations, noted the good practice of the majority of outlets. Current regulation of the media and the role of the media were also frequently commented on with mixed views on if it is sufficient.

Impact of media coverage on the bereaved

The vast majority of respondents, across all types, recognised the grief and trauma of losing a child, especially in such tragic circumstances. Some, particularly individuals who had been bereaved and victim support organisations, went on to comment that this trauma was compounded, and further distress caused, by the way in which the death of the child had been covered by the media. Many described this as being “re-traumatising”.

“Currently in Scotland, the victim’s name, photograph, and extremely sensitive details about them and the crime that was committed against them are usually released in the public domain. This causes huge distress and adds to an already deeply traumatic situation.” – individual, bereaved family member or friend

“this is an incredibly sensitive area and it is clear that, at times, reporting can exacerbate families’ grief if editorial standards are not upheld.” – Independent Press Standards Organisation

The lack of choice and control family members have over what is reported was also raised by some respondents with many also emphasising the importance of listening to those with lived experience in determining the best route forward.

Surviving siblings

Of the respondents who were of the view that the media coverage caused further trauma to bereaved families, the majority expressed particular concern about the impact on surviving child siblings.

“We cannot overstate the traumatic impact graphic news coverage can have on surviving siblings, who become victims in their own right. It is increasingly challenging to shield children from harmful content as the internet is a daily essential for schoolwork and entertainment. We are told by parents that they live in fear of their surviving children accidently being exposed to age-inappropriate and violent coverage about their sibling’s case.” – Victim Support Scotland and Victims Organisations Collaboration Forum Scotland

One respondent offered an explanation as to why the impact on surviving children is more acute, citing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) such as exposure to traumatic experiences and the adverse impact this can have on the development and wellbeing of children and young people:

“In our experience, children and teenagers exposed to traumatic events such as a loved one’s murder, struggle to understand the effects of trauma, they avoid school, feel isolated, and wanting to resume life as it was before, but readily available graphic details in media, other children’s verbal intrusion, and press publicity about the death of the sibling, can have a huge psychological impact on them which can lead to life-long trauma related issues without the support of professional intervention.” – PETAL Support

Other considerations regarding impact

The fact that not all cases are the same and that individuals’ experiences of, and reactions to, media coverage will all be different was highlighted by many respondents throughout the consultation responses. For example:

“some relatives of child homicide victims find the publicity surrounding the child’s death distressing (with variation depending on the nature of the publicity), with there often being particular concern over the impact of publicity on the deceased child’s surviving siblings. Yet other relatives appear to welcome the opportunity to highlight the crime, its impact on them and to share memories about the deceased child. It is quite possible that different members of a given bereaved family will have different views on the issue of publicity. The same comments apply to friends of the deceased child.” – individual, legal professional

Some respondents questioned extending anonymity specifically to child victims of homicide, suggesting that the same impact may be felt by the bereaved where the victim is over 18 or in other crime types.

“If the justification for this proposal is the upset suffered by close family, then there would be justification for extending the "protection" if the victim was over 18. Does the family of a 19-year-old murdered in the street by a gang not feel the same anguish as those of a 17-year-old killed in the same circumstances? Similarly, it would be logical to extend such a law to any young person unlawfully killed.” – Newsbrands Scotland

Behaviour of the media and the manner of reporting

When discussing the impact of media reporting on child homicide victims on those bereaved, many respondents who had been bereaved and support organisations suggested the general approach of some media outlets - both before a story is published and the manner and tone of the reporting - can be problematic:

“Reporting of all crime types impacts victims and witnesses, but it can be particularly traumatising for the family of a child who dies unexpectedly as a result of crime. This is in part due to the reporting style deployed by some media outlets which can:

• Objectify the victim,
• Exploit the family,
• Report in a sensational and simplistic way (ibid.).

Immediately following a child homicide, families can be exposed to a myriad of coverage that can vary greatly in tone and include a range of graphic and unnecessary details.” – Victim Support Scotland and Victims Organisations Collaboration Forum Scotland

Unnecessary detail

Within this theme, a large number of comments were made about unnecessary and graphic details in reporting. Words that were commonly used to describe this coverage included: explicit, graphic, unnecessary, sensationalist, extreme, and gratuitous.

Specific examples of what was thought to be unnecessary detail included: photographs of the victim (particularly when directly next to photographs of the accused), maps of the last movements of the victim, details about the crime and cause of death (especially those of a sexual and/or violent nature). Some respondents commented that the identity of the child victim was an unnecessary detail and that the crime could still be reported by the media without including this information.

“Families bereaved by crime should not have to endure exposure to explicit and sensationalised coverage about their loved one’s death. Graphic news coverage can have a traumatic impact on surviving siblings, who become victims in their own right.” - Children 1^st

“We acknowledge that reporting on child homicide cases may be in the public interest, however this does not need to include graphic detail e.g., regarding the condition the body was found in or mapping out last known sightings. We firmly believe that such explicit detail is unnecessary and is deeply retraumatising for the family, especially surviving siblings.” – Victim Support Scotland and Victims Organisations Collaboration Forum Scotland

Ongoing nature of coverage

Another commonly raised issue was the ongoing nature of the bereaved being contacted by the media and the subsequent coverage, with words like “hounding”, “relentless”, “cycle”, “never-ending” and “constant” appearing often in responses. It was suggested that this caused families to have to re-live their trauma.

“The media absolutely hounds families, friends and communities when there is a child homicide, headline front page stories for months, years constantly barraging families, schools, friends, communities for any type of story and repeatedly using the victims photo next to their murderer.” – individual, bereaved family member or friend

Good practice

Counter to these views, many respondents (the majority of which being media organisations) were of the view that the Scottish media operates responsibly and ethically, and some respondents further commented that many outlets respect requests from families, particularly those relating to photographs used in coverage. Terms that were used by respondents to describe this included: “sensitivity”, “take responsibility seriously”, “ethical”, “responsible”, “care”, “compassion”, “integrity”.

“journalists are sons, daughters, mothers and fathers too, and fully understand how traumatic the loss of any child must be, never mind under such horrific circumstances as a murder. As such they take their responsibilities seriously and do not seek to add to any family's anguish in any way.

They do reflect the justified outrage and shock felt by the general public when such tragedies occur and the sense of urgency to bring the perpetrator to justice. And publishers are always very willing to help those families who wish to derive something positive from such appalling tragedies.

News publishers take their responsibilities under the law very seriously and go to great lengths to ensure coverage is compliant with the considerable controls to which the reporting of crimes involving children.” – Newsbrands Scotland

It was also recognised by other non-media respondents that there is a range in approach in how the media cover these cases.

Role of the media

The vast majority of responses from media organisations commented on the positive role the media outlets have as the “watchdogs of democracy” with many raising that reporting on child homicide cases can be a powerful tool and effective at:

• correcting inaccuracies (particularly those that may circulate on social media) and confirming facts
• raising awareness
• scrutinising and holding systems and institutions to account
• leading to meaningful change in society

“The media plays a critical role not only in reporting on crime as the case unfolds, but in analysing the case after conclusion. An anonymity extension would detrimentally impact the ability of the media to inform the public and, as the watchdogs of democracy, to scrutinise and facilitate accountability. When such crimes lead to inquiries and pressure for institutional changes, they generally do so because of a public outcry. This outcry is usually the result of reporting. Without media scrutiny, the pressure for essential change is likely to diminish - which does not serve relatives or society.” – STV Group PLC

There were further comments on the media’s role specifically within the criminal justice system, for example: for police appeals for information, holding perpetrators to account, and aiding public confidence in the justice system. Some respondents raised that the media were the key mechanism by which the public are informed about, and understand, the workings of the justice system.

“Generally, the work of the courts must be accessible to the public. Very few members of the public are in a position to attend at a court to observe proceedings and, whilst sentencing statements and judgments are published on SCTS websites, the principal conduit of information about court cases is the media.” – Senators of the College of Justice

“The press are the eyes and ears of the public with a function of accurately reporting court proceedings which members of the public seldom attend.” – Associated Newspapers Ltd

Agenda of the media

However, of those respondents that were of the view that coverage of these cases is problematic, many questioned the agenda of the media, suggesting it was to sell newspapers, get “likes” or make a profit rather than for reporting in the public interest.

“There is a clear difference between well intentioned outpourings of grief and sensationalist, graphic reporting to gain or increase a social media presence or to earn money from sales or advertising.” – Children and Young People’s Centre for Justice

“because of the way our media operates this is more about selling papers and increasing media hits and there is no regard to allowing the family to have peace and remember their loved one.” – individual, bereaved family member or friend

Current regulation and guidelines

The current system of media regulation in the UK was referred to in many responses with views split on if it is sufficient. The regulatory codes and guidelines mentioned by respondents were:

• the Ofcom Broadcasting Code – the rule most applicable to coverage of child homicide cases was said to be Rule 8.1: Any infringement of privacy in programmes, or in connection with obtaining material included in programmes, must be warranted. The code also suggests “practices to be followed” under this rule including:
  • 8.18 which requires broadcasters to take care not to reveal the identity of a person (of any age) who has died unless and until it is clear that the next of kin have been informed of the event or unless it is warranted; and
  • 8.19 which provides that broadcasters should try to reduce the potential distress to victims and/or relatives when making or broadcasting programmes intended to examine past events that involve trauma to individuals (including crime) unless it is warranted to do otherwise.
• the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s (IPSO) Editors’ Code of Practice – the clauses most applicable to coverage of child homicide cases were said to be:
  • Clause 4: Intrusion into grief or shock
  • Clause 6: Children
  • Clause 7: Children in sex cases
  • Clause 9: Reporting of crime
• the National Union of Journalists’ Code of Conduct – in their response, the National Union of Journalists highlighted that the Code emphasises “a journalist...strives to ensure that information disseminated is honestly conveyed, accurate and fair....does her/his utmost to correct harmful inaccuracies...differentiates between fact and opinion [and] does nothing to intrude into anybody’s private life, grief or distress unless justified by overriding consideration of the public interest.”
• BBC Editorial Guidelines - sections highlighted in BBC Scotland’s consultation response included Section 8 on reporting crime and anti-social behaviour which requires that the public interest in reporting crime is balanced with respect for the privacy and dignity of victims and their families.

Views that the current system of regulation is sufficient

All responses from media organisations spoke positively of the current system of regulation, in addition some respondents stated it provided adequate protection while also being flexible.

“The media are already subject to considerable constraints on the reporting of child homicides; children receive enhanced protection for their privacy rights as a matter of civil law and the media self-censor, via their regulatory codes, where children and more generally where family members of victims, survivors, witnesses and criminals are affected by crime.” – BBC Scotland

The media’s general compliance with the current regulatory system was also raised in some responses. In respect of broadcasting, one regulatory body stated:

“In our experience, there is a high level of compliance with the rules in this area which suggests broadcasters understand their responsibilities when discussing sensitive issues and act accordingly. There are no reported instances of broadcasters being in breach of any aspect of the Broadcasting Code in relation to the reporting of child homicide” – Ofcom

Although not of the view that the current system provided adequate protection, some of those who were in support of reform acknowledged that the vast majority of media outlets do comply with current Codes of Conduct and guidance.

“We recognise the high standard of professionalism in Scotland, and acknowledge the vast majority of media outlets comply with such guidance.” – Victim Support Scotland and Victims Organisations Collaboration Forum Scotland

Views that the current system of regulation is insufficient

Of those that were of the view that the current system of regulation was inadequate, it was often raised in the responses that it was a voluntary and self-regulating system and lacked guidance specifically on reporting on child homicide cases.

“Currently, there is no legislation to moderate media coverage of child homicide cases. Members of the press can voluntarily adhere to National Union of Journalist Code of Conduct and the IPSO Editor’s Code of Practice. While there exists guidance on reporting of deaths (including suicide) and inquests, this does not specifically cover reporting of child homicides. Under the Code of Practice, the media can publish factual information they believe is in the public interest (IPSO, 2021). There is no requirement to balance this against the impact on the bereaved family.” – Victim Support Scotland and Victims Organisations Collaboration Forum Scotland

It was also highlighted that these regulatory codes and guidance apply to traditional forms of media and not to “social media users, or emerging and popular forms, including true-crime podcasts and YouTube channels, and to ordinary members of the public sharing content about their own lives in text, audio, photographic and video forms.” – individual, legal professional