Minimizing Harm and Reporting on Sexual Assault

 Lauren McCain 

lm176817@ohio.edu

It has been just over three years since the enormous #MeToo movement swept across social media following the sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, and since then an increasing number of women have stepped forward to share their own stories. 

But stepping forward for survivors has its costs, and journalists should be aware of all potential impacts when reporting on such sensitive stories. 

Picture source: https://thewholestory.solutionsjournalism.org/

As journalists, while it is our job to seek out the truth and report it as accurately and fairly as we can, we also have a responsibility to minimize harm with our reporting. 

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), which is widely utilized by both professional and student journalism environments, recently updated their ethics code under minimizing harm to include 'compassion for those who may be victims of sexual violence.' 

Their guidelines, which are like most - if not all - major journalism ethics codes in that they are encouraged but not mandatory, also remind journalists that just because something is legally accessible does not mean that it can be published with ethical justification. 

When reporting on sexual assault it can be difficult to walk the line between respecting a victim's story/privacy and getting the fairest and most accurate story reported. That is: how do journalists report on sexual assault with both accuracy and sensitivity?  

This is a problem for ethical journalism. 

Louise Godbold was one of the women who stepped out against Weinstein in 2017, and after experiencing what the public media attention was like for a survivor first-hand, she wrote her own code of journalism ethics for reporting/ interviewing trauma survivors. 

In what reads like an informal preamble to her code, Godbold explains that she doesn't think that any professional media reporter would 'wake up in the morning wanting to harm someone', but that reporters might need a few extra pointers for minimizing harm when reporting on survivors. She hopes her code will be adopted by reporters dealing with such topics. 

Journalists play an important role in communicating the stories of survivors to the public; stories can raise awareness, shrink the stigmas, and even empower other survivors. But journalists also have to keep in mind the weight of the information being reported. Things like word choice, editing, and the chosen narrative could be harmful to the victim, possibly doing more harm than good in the end. 

Ethical journalism removes the black-and-white, simplistic thinking of normal reporting. It challenges every journalist to consider what is best for the greater good, as well as where their morals truly lie. Ethics codes are not mandatory for every publication, and there are many reporters in the world who disregard any type of such code. But to pause and consider the impact of your information is what sets apart a journalist from a good journalist.