UNICEF cautions journalists on stigmatisation reportage on children

THE United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has cautioned journalists on stigmatisation when reporting children based issues.
This was made known in a two-day media workshop on ethical reporting on children held at Kakanfo Inn, Ibadan, Oyo State, organised by Lagos State Ministry of Information and Strategy in collaboration with UNICEF.

UNICEF Communication Officer, Advocacy, Media and External Communications, Blessing Ejiofor, explained that the aim of the workshop is to share with journalists some developed guidelines and principles that would assist in covering children in appropriate and sensitive manner.
“We all know that 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 stigmatisation.
“Hence, the aim of this workshop is to share with journalists some developed guidelines and principles that would assist them cover children in an age appropriate and sensitive manner.
“The guidelines are meant to support the best intentions of ethical reporter in serving the public interest without compromising the rights of children,” she said.
Speaking further on ethics reporting on children, Dr ‘Goke Rauf, Department of Mass Communication, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta, explained that ethics are rules of conduct or principles of morality that point toward the right or best way to report children based issues.
“It’s important to set standards of moral context; you cannot say because you have the truth, you want to violate child right… code of conduct described by the press to guide, guard and protect the professionals and profession itself.”