I have attended quite a few journalism trainings and seminars before, but the recent one I was invited to left me in tears.
I saw three young women wearing the same black shirt approaching the registration table where we enlisted ourselves as participants. I assumed they were college students who were also attending a journalism forum organized by STET–Women in Cebu Media as part of the 34th Cebu Press Freedom Week.
I was wrong.
As the program progressed, I heard their names being called one after another to stand in front of us. Unlike the other speakers who discussed laws, regulations, policies and practices surrounding Online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children, these three women shared something far more personal: their own experiences as survivors of abuse.
They were there not only to talk about the case, but more importantly, they were there to share how their case becomes a story they will never forget.
I felt uneasy listening to their accounts of how irresponsible reporting had affected their lives as survivors.
One of them recalled the day after a report about the rescue operation conducted by authorities to save them came out.
She saw herself everywhere, in newspapers, on television and in reports.
And she asked herself:
Am I a victim or a criminal?
That question troubled me and it stayed with me even after the seminar.
In retrospect I recalled myself as a journalism graduate, who was trained to spot what is newsworthy and to always take the lead to cover the story first.
But listening to the survivors’ narrative made me realized that sometimes, the people behind the story matters more than the story itself.
In the age of virality and engagement, responsible reporting is needed now more than ever. While the public deserves to know the story, the person in the story has the right to dignity, privacy, safety and humanity.
A 2022 United Nations Children’s Fund study examining media reporting on violence against girls specifically looked at whether news coverage followed rights-based, gender- and age-sensitive, victim/survivor-centered approaches. It also examined whether reporting recognized unequal gender relations and power dynamics surrounding violence.
That matters because harm does not necessarily end when the abuse ends.
Sometimes, the harm continues through the way the incident is remembered, described, photographed, searched and shared.
During the forum, the organizers repeatedly reminded the audience to stop recording and refrain from taking photos while the survivors were sharing their stories.
I appreciated how the organizers treated the matter with such sensitivity and how this careful consideration ultimately became an expression of respect for the survivors themselves.
As a teacher, I always remind my high school students that in our pursuit of becoming the best storytellers, we must never forget that we are merely instruments behind the stories we tell. The people at the heart of our stories matter more than the stories themselves.
