Media reporting of cases in which children are victims should be in a manner that protects their dignity, said Information and Public Relations Secretary P. Venugopal.
He was speaking after inaugurating a workshop for mediapersons on the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015, and the Prevention of Children from Sexual Exploitation (POCSO) Act here on Saturday. The workshop was organised by the Information and Public Relations Department, Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Kesari Memorial Journalist Trust, and the Press Club.
Knowing children’s minds and hearts in depth and the awareness that there were things one did not know about would help in taking up reporting that protected children’s dignity, Mr. Venugopal said.
Former chairperson of the Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights Shobha Koshy, in her introductory speech, said media were important in protection of child rights.
Up to 50 per cent of the cases related to children had come to light following media reports. The commission and other institutions looked at media reporting very seriously, she said.
Mediapersons should ensure that no detail was reported that could reveal the identity of children who were victims, Ms. Koshy said. Reporting on accused in such cases should not result in identification of the victims, she said.
Humaneness
Attention should be paid to the plight of the victims and what they were going through, Information and Public Relations Department Director T.V. Subhash said.
Humaneness in reporting would ensure that child rights are upheld, said Sebastian Paul, critic.
Social interventions
Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights acting chairperson C.J. Antony said society was not paying enough attention to rehabilitation of child victims, and it was time to think if social interventions were bearing fruit.
The workshop will continue on Monday.
