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STRESSING that children need special
care, the Department of Justice on Wednesday came out with a
14-point guideline for media reporting and coverage on cases
involving children or minors.
Justice
Undersecretary Linda Homilla, head of the special committee for the
protection of children, said the guideline is actually a revision of the
one adopted in 2000.
According
to Homilla, the revisions were made to attune it with the rapid
advances in communication and the enactment of new laws, like the
Human Trafficking Act of 2003.
“Children
need special safeguards and care due to their size, vulnerability
and young age, hence necessitating the revision,” Homilla said in
a forum.
Among the
revisions in the Justice department guidelines are as follows.
1.) All records
and matter involving child abuse victims and children in conflict
with the law are absolutely confidential;
2.) It is
prohibited to interview a child victim of abuse, child witness,
child in armed conflict or child in conflict with the law, except
when he or she is accompanied by psychologists or social workers
known to her or him;
3.) Journalistic
activity which touches on the lives and welfare of children must be
carried out with sensitivity and appreciation of the vulnerable
situation of the children, so that children are not re-victimized or
re-traumatized;
4.) The identity
of a child victim of abuse, child witness, children in armed
conflict, children in conflict with the law shall not be disclosed.
No information that would lead to the identification of the child or
any member of his or her family shall be published or broadcasted;
5.) Photographs,
images or video coverage of the face or any distinguishing feature
of a child victim of abuse, child witness, children in armed
conflict or a child in conflict with the law including his or her
family members shall not be taken, published or shown in the public
in any manner; and
6.) The use of
sexualized images of children in any form is a violation of the
child rights.
Assisting the
Justice department in crafting the guidelines were the Philippine
General Hospital-Child Protection Unit, the National Bureau of
Investigations, Bureau of Immigration, and the Social Welfare,
Interior and Local Government, and Health departments.
She
stressed that the challenge now to media is “how to carry out
their duty of informing the public effectively and at the same time
being aware of the need to protect children and enhance their
rights, without in anyway compromising the freedom of expression or
undermining their independence as journalists.”
---William B. Depasupil
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