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Albanian (Shqiptar) | 21st March 2018
Media and Trafficking in Human Beings Guidelines was authored by the Ethical Journalism Network as part of a project funded by the European Union and implemented by an international consortium led by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). © 2017. Republished with permission.
The tragedy of trafficking and slavery is newsworthy but because it is a hidden crime, it often takes an immense amount of resources to support investigative journalism. Access to survivors is sometimes difficult, and it is their voices that play a huge part in pushing a story into the mainstream.
Remember: News media have great power. People can be flattered when they are approached by reporters, without understanding fully the risks to themselves and to others when they come into the public eye. This is particularly true of people caught up in the drama and tragedy of human trafficking as much as it applies to people involved in humanitarian disaster, war or other traumatic events.
Journalists need to be as transparent as possible in their relations with their sources and particularly the victims and survivors of human trafficking. Journalists should:
Remember: If the victim has no parent or guardian, or is illiterate or can’t read, and if the responsible organisation representing the survivor is unethical and untrustworthy, a journalist has to rely upon their own conscience and ethical judgement. This is the moment, above all, to show the ethic of humanity.
Here is an additional checklist of questions that the ethical journalist will ask in interviewing someone who is a survivor of human trafficking:
Anonymity is a right which should be enjoyed by those who need it but is never granted routinely to anyone. When it comes to human trafficking, the protection of the most vulnerable people requires journalists to ensure that, whether they ask for it or not, anonymity should be considered for victims of abuse and those who may be at further risk if their identities are made known.
Sometimes journalists may create relations with their sources that are ambiguous and can undermine the ethical base of their work. In 2014 Swedish broadcast journalist Fredrik Önnevall befriended a 15-year-old Syrian refugee when on assignment covering the migration crisis. He and his team decided to help the boy get to Sweden. The film they produced on the boy’s journey was broadcast on Swedish public television to widespread acclaim, but he was then prosecuted and convicted for people smuggling. His action prompted a fierce debate within journalism about the role of journalists in reporting – should they become participants in the story or remain solely observers?
Albanian (Shqiptar) | 21st March 2018
Media and Trafficking in Human Beings Guidelines | 21st March 2018
Media and Trafficking in Human Beings Guidelines | 21st March 2018
Media and Trafficking in Human Beings Guidelines | 21st March 2018
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