Delhi High Court’s proposed Guidelines for Media Reporting on children
Mrinal Chatterjee
Delhi High Court in WP(Civil) No 787 of 2012 in Ananta Kumar Asthana Vs
Union of India & others has approved Media Guidelines for children.
Media coverage on matters relating to children may have long term
consequences on their overall development (physical, mental,
psychological, emotional, moral, social, economic etc.) life and
dignity, and lack of care by Media in this regard may entail real risk
of children facing harm, stigma, disqualification, retribution etc. The
privacy, dignity, physical and emotional development of children is of
the utmost importance, which are to be preserved and protected at all
times, while reporting/ broadcasting/ publication of
news/programs/documentaries etc on and for children.
The Guidelines mentioned below are proposed in the backdrop of the
existing legal framework to secure and protect the rights of children
and set out the minimum parameters of responsibility for Media.
‘Child’ or ‘Children’ shall mean a person(s) who has /have not
completed 18 years of age. ‘Media’ shall include but not be limited to
any newspaper, magazine, news-sheet or electronic media.
Involvement of children in news/programs/documentaries etc must
evidently be editorially justified from a child rights’ perspective.
Media shall ensure that child victims of rape, other sexual offences,
trafficking, drug/substance abuse, elopement, organized crimes, children
used in armed conflicts, children in conflict with law and child
witnesses etc. are automatically guaranteed anonymity for life.
Media must ensure that due consideration is given to a child’s right to
privacy and to prevent the child from being exposed to anxiety,
distress, trauma, social stigma, risk to life & safety and further
suffering in relation to reporting/ broadcasting/ publication of news/
programs/ documentaries etc on and for children.
Media shall
ensure that a child’s identity is not revealed in any manner, including
but not limited to, disclosure of personal information, photograph,
school/ institution/ locality and information of the family including
their residential/ official address.
Media shall not
sensationalise issues or stories, especially those relating to children
and should be conscious of the pernicious consequences of disclosing/
highlighting information in a sensational form and the harm it may cause
to children.
While interviewing a child the Media should be governed by the following principles.
a) That the interview is in the child’s best interest
b) That the interview does not aggravate the child’s situation further.
c) That the manner and content of the interview doesn’t affect/interfere with the child’s right to privacy.
d) That if the interview is in the child’s best
interest, the same shall be done under supervision and consent of the
child’s parent(s) or legal guardian, or in the alternative, the
competent authorities for the child.
e) That while interviewing a child, his/her consent may be obtained, depending upon his/her age and maturity.
f) Frequent interviewing of a child must be avoided.
g) The child’s refusal to be interviewed must be honoured.
h) Before interviewing the child he/she must be duly informed about the purpose and manner of the interview.
i) The child and/or his/her parents/guardian or any
person having control over him/her shall not be coerced or enticed in
any manner including financial or other inducement to secure consent for
the interview.
Media must verify the credentials and authority of individuals/ organizations whose consent is sought on behalf of the child.
Media shall not give any financial or other inducement to the child or
parent / guardian or others in relation to reporting/ broadcasting/
publication of news/ programs/documentaries etc. on and for children.
Media must balance its responsibility to protect children from
unsuitable content with the right to freedom of expression and the right
to know.
To protect the identity of the child media shall
ensure that any visual showing the face of the child must be completely
morphed in cases where privacy/anonymity is required.
Media
shall orient/sensitize its editorial personnels, including editors/
editorial team / reporters / correspondents / producers / photographers
etc. about laws, rules, regulations and guidelines related to reporting /
broadcasting / publication of news/ programs / documentaries etc. on
and for children.
The media shall proactively promote the children’s right to information and freedom of expression.
The compliance with the applicable laws, rules, regulations and
guidelines related to reporting/ broadcasting/ publication of news/
programes/ documentaries etc. on and for children shall be monitored by
a) the self regulatory bodies, b) the regulatory mechanisms of Ministry
of Information and Broadcasting, such as Electronic media Monitoring
Centre (EMMC) and Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC), Press Council of
India through their respective procedures.
Delhi High Court’s proposed Guidelines for Media Reporting on children
Mrinal Chatterjee
Delhi High Court in WP(Civil) No 787 of 2012 in Ananta Kumar Asthana Vs Union of India & others has approved Media Guidelines for children.
Media coverage on matters relating to children may have long term consequences on their overall development (physical, mental, psychological, emotional, moral, social, economic etc.) life and dignity, and lack of care by Media in this regard may entail real risk of children facing harm, stigma, disqualification, retribution etc. The privacy, dignity, physical and emotional development of children is of the utmost importance, which are to be preserved and protected at all times, while reporting/ broadcasting/ publication of news/programs/documentaries etc on and for children.
The Guidelines mentioned below are proposed in the backdrop of the existing legal framework to secure and protect the rights of children and set out the minimum parameters of responsibility for Media.
‘Child’ or ‘Children’ shall mean a person(s) who has /have not completed 18 years of age. ‘Media’ shall include but not be limited to any newspaper, magazine, news-sheet or electronic media.
Involvement of children in news/programs/documentaries etc must evidently be editorially justified from a child rights’ perspective.
Media shall ensure that child victims of rape, other sexual offences, trafficking, drug/substance abuse, elopement, organized crimes, children used in armed conflicts, children in conflict with law and child witnesses etc. are automatically guaranteed anonymity for life.
Media must ensure that due consideration is given to a child’s right to privacy and to prevent the child from being exposed to anxiety, distress, trauma, social stigma, risk to life & safety and further suffering in relation to reporting/ broadcasting/ publication of news/ programs/ documentaries etc on and for children.
Media shall ensure that a child’s identity is not revealed in any manner, including but not limited to, disclosure of personal information, photograph, school/ institution/ locality and information of the family including their residential/ official address.
Media shall not sensationalise issues or stories, especially those relating to children and should be conscious of the pernicious consequences of disclosing/ highlighting information in a sensational form and the harm it may cause to children.
While interviewing a child the Media should be governed by the following principles.
a) That the interview is in the child’s best interest
b) That the interview does not aggravate the child’s situation further.
c) That the manner and content of the interview doesn’t affect/interfere with the child’s right to privacy.
d) That if the interview is in the child’s best interest, the same shall be done under supervision and consent of the child’s parent(s) or legal guardian, or in the alternative, the competent authorities for the child.
e) That while interviewing a child, his/her consent may be obtained, depending upon his/her age and maturity.
f) Frequent interviewing of a child must be avoided.
g) The child’s refusal to be interviewed must be honoured.
h) Before interviewing the child he/she must be duly informed about the purpose and manner of the interview.
i) The child and/or his/her parents/guardian or any person having control over him/her shall not be coerced or enticed in any manner including financial or other inducement to secure consent for the interview.
Media must verify the credentials and authority of individuals/ organizations whose consent is sought on behalf of the child.
Media shall not give any financial or other inducement to the child or parent / guardian or others in relation to reporting/ broadcasting/ publication of news/ programs/documentaries etc. on and for children.
Media must balance its responsibility to protect children from unsuitable content with the right to freedom of expression and the right to know.
To protect the identity of the child media shall ensure that any visual showing the face of the child must be completely morphed in cases where privacy/anonymity is required.
Media shall orient/sensitize its editorial personnels, including editors/ editorial team / reporters / correspondents / producers / photographers etc. about laws, rules, regulations and guidelines related to reporting / broadcasting / publication of news/ programs / documentaries etc. on and for children.
The media shall proactively promote the children’s right to information and freedom of expression.
The compliance with the applicable laws, rules, regulations and guidelines related to reporting/ broadcasting/ publication of news/ programes/ documentaries etc. on and for children shall be monitored by a) the self regulatory bodies, b) the regulatory mechanisms of Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, such as Electronic media Monitoring Centre (EMMC) and Inter Ministerial Committee (IMC), Press Council of India through their respective procedures.
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