The Women's Centre for Change (WCC) has urged the media to safeguard the identities of children who are victims of sexual assault.

 

This comes after the Penang-based NGO, in a survey, found instances where victims were identified through news reports.

 

"A few of the child cases which we handled were reported in the press, and some of it had a negative impact on the child and their family, particularly when the child was identifiable through the news articles. 

 

"Apart from causing them to experience deep shame and casting a spotlight on an experience which is deeply humiliating, it also severely impedes the healing process for the victim," it said in a statement today.

 

According to the survey conducted from May to September this year, 15 percent of news reports concerning child sexual assault had directly or indirectly led to the minor's identification.

 

The survey looked at a total of 382 articles concerning sexual assault involving minors from eight major publications, namely  The Star, The Sun, Metro Harian, Berita Harian, China Press, Oriental Daily, Malaysiakini and the Malay Mail Online.

 

Of these, 59 articles, or 15 percent, identified or could lead to the identification of the victim. 

 

The Malay-language media was responsible for 30 of these articles, the Mandarin media had 23 such articles, and the English language media contained six such stories.

 

Protection for children

 

Of the offending articles, 17 stories explicitly named the child involved, or published their photographs.

 

The remaining 42 articles contained a combination of markers that could lead to the identification of the minor such as the victim's and perpetrator's age and locality, as well as the perpetrator's name and photograph.

 

WCC said this was a violation of Section 15 of the Child Act 2001 and Section 14 of the Evidence of Child Witness Act 2007, which makes it a criminal offence to reveal or publish any particular of a child involved in a court proceeding that could lead to their identification.

 

The two provisions are to be applied in cases where the child is either the victim, witness, or suspect.

 

In addition, a child’s identity is also to be protected, even when they are indirectly involved in any court proceeding, including divorce and custody cases.

 

Both laws provide for a fine of up to RM10,000 or imprisonment for up to five years, or both.

 

"There is a need for media practitioners to be aware of the responsibility which lie in their hands when they report on such issues as it can cause severe trauma to the children and their families," it said.