Media reporting on child homicide victims: what did you tell us?

Media Reporting on Child Homicide: What did you tell us? Easy Read version

What is a Consultation?

When the Government is thinking about making an important change, they ask people for their views first. This is called a consultation.

The Scottish Government did a consultation in 2024 about how child homicide victims are reported in the media. The media means TV, radio, newspapers and the internet.

Child homicide victims are children who have died because of crime.

There are organisations who can provide support and advice about this issue. Contact details for these organisations can be found here:

Home - Victim Support Scotland

Other organisations that can help you - Victim Support Scotland

There were 46 responses to the consultation. 30 were from groups and organisations. 11 of these were media organisations. The other 16 responses were from individuals.

What we found out

The consultation asked about media reporting on child homicides. How could it be less upsetting and distressing for families of the victims.

In the consultation the media had different opinions to families of victims and victim support organisations.

The groups did not agree on action about laws on anonymity. Anonymity means the victim's identity would not be reported to the public.

Impact of media on families

People understood how upsetting child homicide is. Some told us that this is made worse by the way the death was covered by the media. This can be especially hard for the child victim's brothers and sisters.

Behaviour of the media and how they report

Many family members and victim support organisations said there is a problem with how the media reports child homicides. They said too many upsetting details about the crime are reported.

But a lot of people said that the Scottish media reports in a way that is sensitive and responsible.

Role of the media

Almost all responses from the media said that reporting on child homicide cases can be a powerful way to:

• correct mistakes and confirm facts
• raise awareness
• check that the justice system is working properly
• cause society to make changes for the better

Some said the media had an important part to play in the criminal justice system. It helped the public to understand and trust the justice system.

But many said there are problems with how these cases are covered by the media. They suggested the media was more interested in making profits than public interest.

Current rules and guidelines

People talked about the current rules for the media in the UK. There were different opinions about whether they were enough or if new rules were needed.

All of the media said current rules were enough. They said they work well and people follow them.

Other people said the current rules are not enough. The media do not have to follow them. They do not have enough rules on child homicide cases. They need to be updated to cover new forms of media.

Views on possible options

People were asked for their views on these possible options:

Option 1: Keep the current rules.

There would be no anonymity for child homicide victims. We would look at what we can do without changing the rules. This would include more guidance for the media.

Most of the people who disagreed with this option were families of victims and victim support organisations. They did not think the current law was enough.

Many people said that people with experience should be involved in making new guidance for the media. This would include families of child homicide victims, and victim support organisations.

People said that any guidance for the media should focus on the feelings and privacy of victims' families. It should also make sure that facts are reported properly.

Guidance should include language used, how much detail is included, when to use photos, and warning people about what is being shown.

Option 2: The law is changed so there is automatic anonymity for all child homicide victims.

This means that families would not need to go to court to ask for anonymity.

Only one person supported this option. Most people said this would not work. It would restrict the freedom of the media and the victims' families.

Option 3: The law is changed so there is automatic anonymity for child homicide victims and the anonymity can be waived.

This means that families would not need to ask the court for anonymity. They would need to ask the court if they wanted to waive the anonymity. Waive means you choose not to have anonymity.

People's opinions were split over this option. The main reasons for support were that it is fair and would give victims' families choice and control.

Most people who disagreed with this option were the media. They said it was not fair.

Option 4: The law is changed so there is no automatic anonymity but families could ask the court for it.

Most people disagreed with this option but a few agreed with it.

People said that applying for anonymity would be too difficult for families of child homicide victims. They also said the application process would be too slow to keep up with the news.

The results were mixed for the 4 options and there was no option that all were in favour of. But option 2 got the least support.

Start point for anonymity

Most people said that any anonymity should start from the point of a child's death (when it is found that they died as a result of crime).

People said any later would be too late. Once information is released and details are public it is difficult or impossible to remove them.

This would protect families of victims and give them some choice and control when they need it most.

Other options

Suggestions of other ways to improve how child homicides are reported included:

• separate guidelines helping victims' families deal with the media's coverage of the case and giving them information on their rights

• make people aware of the impact that media coverage can have on the victims' families

• better communication between the justice system and families about what the media might report

• special training for the media on reporting child homicides

Talking about loss

Lots of people said that families of child homicide victims will react to media coverage in different ways. They will want to talk about their experiences differently too.

People might want to talk to the media as part of their grieving process. They may want to raise awareness or campaign for change and fundraise. They may want to celebrate the life of their loved one.

Not all members of the same family will agree. Families are complicated and their views can change over time.

Police investigation

The media can help with police investigations. Their coverage of crimes can raise public awareness and help get witnesses. Media organisations said this might not happen if the victim was anonymous.

Missing child cases get a lot of publicity but can turn into homicide cases later. The media said the police might not be able to gather enough information if there were limits on what they could report.

But other people said that anonymity works well in other cases. This can be when the accused is a child or for child victims of sexual offences.

Freedom of expression

All of the media were worried that a new law on anonymity might go against freedom of expression. This is a human right that says everyone has the right to say what they think. This right is not just for the media but also for victims' families.

But many people said that there are some situations where other rights are more important to protect than freedom of expression, like the right to privacy.

Whose rights are being protected

Some people said we should be clear on whose rights are most important in these situations. The child victim, the family, the general public or the media?

Many said we should remember the rights included in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This sets out the rights of every child.

Open justice

All of the media said that extending anonymity would be very bad for open justice. Open justice means people understand how the justice system works and trust that it works properly.

Other people said that anonymity would not stop the cases from being reported on. Some people said that anonymity works well in other cases. This can be when the accused is a child or for child victims of sexual offences.

Public understanding of anonymity rules

Many people said that it would be important to make sure new anonymity rules were understood by the public. Breaking the rules would be a crime and people could be punished for doing it.

Some people said this would be difficult or impossible, especially on social media.

Enforcement of anonymity and social media

Many people talked about how information might be shared on social media by people who did not know they were breaking the law. They might do this for good reasons, like sharing their memories or grief on social media.

The most suggested penalty for breaking an anonymity restriction was a fine. Some people said that this should be higher for the media than for members of the public.

Cross-border rules

People agreed that any new rules on anonymity for child homicide victims in Scotland would need to apply to the rest of the UK as well. Otherwise they would not work and would be impossible to enforce.

Other themes

Other key themes raised by people were:

• Public interest:

Some people, including organisations, said that reporting on child homicide cases that includes the name of the victim is in the public interest. The public interest means it is good for the public to know.

Other people said that there is a difference between what is good for the public to know and what they want to know. They do not need to know every detail.

• The small number of child homicide cases:

Some people said this is why these crimes draw attention. Others said the media use this as an excuse for coverage.

Many media organisations said the small number of cases was a reason why new rules on anonymity were not needed.

• Case examples:

Many people talked about specific cases of child homicide. These have not been referred to directly in this report to avoid upsetting victims' families.

The number of case examples people talked about show how many different situations can involve child homicide. They show how complicated these issues are.