Charter and website offer journalists advice on coverage of transgressive behaviour

A new charter advises journalists on how to cover transgressive behaviour, how to deal with victims and alleged perpetrators, and how to balance public information with privacy.

The initiative comes from the Flemish Association of Journalists, the Flemish sexual health expertise centre Sensoa, the University Forensic Centre, the helpline Stop It Now! and Child Focus.

"We give tips and guidelines on how to communicate in a balanced way about transgressive behaviour," says Flemish Media minister Benjamin Dalle. "There is already a lot of attention paid to this in newsrooms, but the advantage is that you now have a very concrete framework to make even better decisions."

The charter and website complement the existing code of journalistic ethics to which the media are expected to adhere and which is monitored by the Press Council. For the time being, however, the Council will not consider the Charter when considering complaints.

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