Invading Victims’ Privacy
Many victims are catipulted by the media to celebrity status. Journalists and reporters fully invade their privacy: following them, harassing family members, showing their homes and worksites on television and internet. I realize that some victimizations, by rarity or special circumstance, require sharing a higher level of detail. But a majority of victims find themselves in a sort of celebrity status that is often unnecessary and uncalled for (and only sensationally feeds the voyarism of the public without newsworthy purpose).
Celebrities choose to be celebrities…victims do not. Celebrities understand that the career and lifestyle they have chosen means sharing intimate details with the public. Victims should be allowed the same choice.
A June 20th St. Louis Post-Dispatch article named – and showed - a domestic violence victim’s home and address. I find this incredibly irresponsible, not to mention unnecessary to the informational value of the story. I ask reporters to remember that victims and their families deserve anonymity and privacy during their healing process unless they choose otherwise. I ask the public to demand this respect from their news outlets. Victims have few other choices in having been victimized…please be socially responsible and afford victims the choice of privacy.
Julie Lawson,
Executive Director
