The fear of becoming the victim…

• A worrying trend has emerged with regards to unethical reporting

The spate of crimes being reported on a daily basis is a worrying sign about society. Certain mainstream news bulletins dedicate more air time to report on crimes committed within a single day, despite the fact that people are overwhelmed with such news items. There are both the pros and cons about reporting on crimes and the nature in which these incidents are being reported. 

Despite a basic code of ethics being in place, many news items elaborate on how a crime has been committed. The manner in which recent incidents were reported is proof of this worrying trend. Even before the police have commenced investigations,  the media has already given their verdict. Today,  it has come to a point where, rather than having a fear of committing a crime,  one should fear  becoming the victim of a crime, because the moment you become a victim, you should be ready to be re-victimised a couple of more times before you could even seek legal support. 

As soon as a crime is being committed, almost all channels have published the CCTV footage related to an incident. This could be a robbery, murder or any other type of crime. The golden rule is to have as much CCTV footage as possible because most channels could publish these videos as a series and get good ratings for the day. Print media has no option but to follow suit. If not, they would fall behind. In fact this chase to obtain the most exclusive video and the most exclusive content came about with social media. By the time a prime time news bulletin has been published, social media users have already been updated with all information related to an incident. 

While mainstream media channels take some effort to provide credible information, unverified sources such as gossip sites and monetised pages would go to town with bits and pieces of misinformation to obtain more views. This is where clickbait and other misleading material comes to play. Depending on the literacy levels of social media users, they may be convinced with misinformation rather than credible news sources. Hence, a worrying trend has emerged with regards to unethical reporting. 

Even though it is unethical to reveal personal details of a victim until investigations have been concluded, the exact opposite happens today. The recent murder of a doctor in Theldeniya is a classic example. Therefore,  there has to be some kind of self regulation among journalists and reporters. 

Provincial journalists for instance would obtain as much information as possible prior to sending the news item and relevant photos and videos to respective channels. It is the duty of these channels to verify and filter sensitive information, especially if it is a murder, an incident of rape, abuse or violence prior to publishing the content. But how this process works in different media houses remains a question. 

In March 2024, when a newly migrated Sri Lankan family was murdered in Ottawa, leaving just one survivor, Canadian media made sure that they didn’t publish photos or footage of the crime scene. There were no blurred images of victims for people to imagine how the stabbing was done. The police separated the crime scene so that the media wouldn’t be able to obtain any visuals. This is because the law enforcement officers respected the victims and upheld their dignity even though they had passed away. 

But we see the opposite in Sri Lanka. As soon as a crime is being reported, there’s an entire village that has come to take videos and record proceedings. This could tamper with important evidence pertaining to a crime scene. 

Sri Lanka should move away from this culture of re-victimising the victim. Ethical reporting plays a huge role in this case. It is the duty of journalists to protect the vulnerable, and by doing so, they shape empathy among citizens.

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