Reporting on victims and survivors from diverse backgrounds and identities
Child sexual abuse can happen to anyone, but often the stories in the media show a narrow type of victim and survivor. Some groups can be disproportionately affected by child sexual abuse and deserve to be represented in media in a respectful and culturally safe way.
These victims and survivors may include: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people with disability, LGBTQIA+ people, and culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
- Be respectful and mindful of cultural, religious and spiritual practices and obligations.
- Understand the compounded impacts of child sexual abuse. Child sexual abuse can intersect with race, gender, sexuality, poverty and geography.
- Speak to advocacy groups, peak bodies and other relevant organisations to gain a better understanding of child sexual abuse and trauma in diverse groups.
- Seek advice or training on culturally safe approaches and practices from expert organisations and services.
- Consider engaging a trauma-informed interpreter.
- Be mindful not to stigmatise through your reporting (i.e., suggesting child sexual abuse is a problem primarily affecting a particular group).
- Understand that one person does not speak for a group and each victim and survivor has their own experience of child sexual abuse.
- Child sexual abuse and sexual orientation or gender identity are entirely unrelated and should never be conflated.
"It’s complex being queer and being a survivor. The intersection of those two things has often been handled badly by the media. It’s important to acknowledge how fraught it is to have media coverage of victim’s and survivor’s stories happening in close proximity to LGBTQIA+ communities. Avoiding the harms of false equivalency is crucial."
(Victim and survivor)