Ok few points to be made here on best practice #media reporting on #sexualviolence. 1) When you bring up age/age gaps when those concerned arent underage, you should explain factors relating to power & control. Age gap (when they aren’t underage) isnt an issue in of itself #nzpol
2) Sending a sexual image to a person that is not your partner, wife, husband etc is not a crime. Sending a NON-consensual sexual image IS. Focus on the latter please. Don’t even mention partners, it’s just irrelevant moralising #nzpol #media #sexting #sexualviolence
3) Avoid and confront moralising (assumptions we make about who is & isnt a good victim, what rships should & shouldn’t look like) as it contributes to #rapeculture. It can play into victim blaming narratives, is heteronormative & extremely unhelpful #media #nzpol #sexualviolence
4) Focus on non-consensual behaviour of alleged person w harmful behaviours. Not the person who was harmed. The number one message that a reader should walk away with is why this behaviour was not consensual &, most importantly, what consent is #media #nzpol #sexualviolence
This is the work I do for a living, so I realise not everyone has the time to be an expert. I’m always happy to chat with reporters or people talking about sexual violence and family violence, in the media. We all have a role to play in violence prevention in Aotearoa #Nzpol
Had a great point raised and just wanted to clarify my point here: when talking about age, always talk about power and control dynamics. This helps readers understand the underlying factors behind abuse and #sexualviolence #media #nzpol
