By Mavis Paintsil, Accra
The Director, Domestic Violence and Victim Support Unit (DOVVSU), Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police ,Owusua Kyeremeh, has advised journalists to priorities childrens rights when reporting cases involving minors.
She said this worsened their situation, with some even dropping out of school, saying, it has been a matter of concern for us as practitioners in this space working with children.
She said this at a training workshop for journalists on “Best Practices for Ethical Reporting on children in vulnerable situations, including consent and confidentiality, ACP Kyeremeh expressed concerns over exposing children in publications without proper consent, context, or protection.
According to her, what we realise is that mosShet journalists, in reporting of the children, are either not aware of the rights of the child or just decide not to pay attention and respect the rights of children, and in that case, in reporting the news, in doing your jobs you end up infringing on the rights of the children.
The training organised by statements limited in partnership with Trailblazers, aimed to enhance journalists skills to enable them to report with accuracy, sensitivity, and greater awareness.
The ACP urged journalist to use initials instead of publishing childrens names, hide their identities, and priorities their welfare over the pursuit of sensational news.
ACP encouraged journalists to familiarise themselves with laws on childrens rights, including the childrens Act, the DOVVSU Act, and the juvenile justice Act.
A Lawyer, Madam Edith Vanessa Khartey, also advocated for collaboration between the media and civil society to amplify messages on vulnerable children and hold perpetrators accountable.
She urged journalists to conduct thorough investigations into abuse allegations before publishing stories, noting that some children may be coerced into making false accusations.
A Programmes Officer at the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mr Daniel Coffee, urged journalists not to ask abused children to recount their trauma repeatedly, as it could worsen their emotional distress.
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