Guidelines for journalists
Reporting on children and young people has its special challenges. In some instances the act of reporting on children places them or other children at risk of retribution or stigmatization. UNICEF has developed these principles to assist journalists as they report on issues affecting children. They are offered as guidelines that UNICEF believes…, Principles, The dignity and rights of every child are to be respected in every circumstance. In interviewing and reporting on children, special attention is to be paid to each child's right to privacy and confidentiality, to have their opinions heard, to participate in decisions affecting them and to be protected from harm and retribution, including the…, Guidelines for interviewing children, Do no harm to any child; avoid questions, attitudes or comments that are judgmental, insensitive to cultural values, that place a child in danger or expose a child to humiliation, or that reactivate a child's pain and grief from traumatic events. Do not discriminate in choosing children to interview because of sex, race, age, religion, status,…, Guidelines for reporting on children, Do not further stigmatize any child; avoid categorisations or descriptions that expose a child to negative reprisals - including additional physical or psychological harm, or lifelong abuse, discrimination or rejection by their local communities. Always provide an accurate context for the child's story or image. Always change the name and obscure…, 'Best interests of the child', The question of whether or how to protect a subject's identity is an editorial judgment that must be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. In all cases, though, it should be based on the primacy of the ‘best interests of the child.' This standard is the foundation of many national laws governing child protection and an over-arching principle of the…, Why identity protection is needed, The need for greater identity protection for some children became increasingly evident in international reporting during the 1990s. There were two main reasons for this: first, a rise in the number of conflicts that targeted civilians, including children; and second, a heightened awareness of the full range of children's rights and their violation…, When to protect identities, "We have witnessed many instances where children have been further endangered or stigmatized after their stories are published,” notes UNICEF's Chief of Child Protection, Susan Bissell. “Protecting against this requires that reporting on children in high-risk situations also respects their individual rights to privacy, to participate in decisions…, Imagery that protects children, To address the challenge of protecting the visual identities of children at risk, UNICEF works with professional photographers and videographers who have demonstrated a key point: Imagery that fully protects the subject's identity can be as powerful and convincing as any other approach to documenting abuses. Creating such imagery often means…, When identities are revealed, The principle of a child's best interests also recognizes instances where risks are weighed and found to be in favour of publishing identities. This is the case with child advocates who choose to take a public stance on a potentially high-risk subject. Some former child soldiers, for example, testify openly to the brutality of their past…, Non-sensational coverage of child soldiers, A parallel dynamic is at work in documenting the issue of child soldiers. Media reports exposing the use of child combatants make a vital contribution to greater awareness of this gross exploitation and the global campaign to stop it. But to ensure that individual children are shielded against possible reprisals, stigma or worse, UNICEF protects…, Use of UNICEF materials, All of UNICEF materials are protected by copyright, including text, photographs, images and videotapes. Permission to reproduce any UNICEF material must be requested from the originating UNICEF office, and will be only be granted on the condition that the principles and guidelines in this document are adhered to. Sources: The Convention on the…
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