Media reporting and child sexual abuse Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Media reporting and child sexual abuse - Essay ExampleThe United goulations 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child states that the child needs special c ar and protection including appropriate juristic protection due to his physical and mental immaturity before and after birth. In the UK, children and young mess be offered protection by two important pieces of legislation the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the human race Rights Act 1998.There have been plentiful and varied challenges involving children and young people, in particular under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act(Curtice and Tim,2010,p.361). The Children, Schools and Families Bill has taken some initiatives concerning publishing the family proceedings education. The measures are subject to controversy as there is need to strike the right balance between right of press to report coquette proceeding under Article 10 ECHR and right to privateness and its respect for children under Article 8 ECHR in a ddition to their best interest under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Relaxation of limitation on media reporting of family proceeding has raised concerns over limiting children rights and providing them insufficient protection (JCHR, 2010). According to media legalitys, accredited journalists are permitted to observe family court proceedings however, they are under strict reporting regulations that allow certain take of lucubrate for print. The limitation of print reporting are imposed in order to ensure privacy and well-being of children involved in the cases (Silk, 2009).Furthermore, according to Justice Secretary, Jack Straw (cited in Silk, 2009) the limitation impart be relaxed in an effort to convey the case substance while children identity and lurid expatiate about family must not be published. The modifications will permit the in the public eye(predicate)ation of expert witness reports, including those incorporating details of child abuse. The relaxation will ensure transparency in family justice system and increased public confidence on its services. The legislation has broaden the amount of information that can be reported which embarrass child or parents medical, psychological, or psychiatric details in addition to the information given by a child to his or her parents. It permits the publication of information regarding the case which is not in the flesh(predicate) sensitive information but the limitations are not clearly defined. The act ensures that names and identities of parties involved go along hidden to maintain livelihoodlong anonymity of children (Baksi, 2010). Recently, numerous high-profile celebrities have accused media of intruding into their privacy during their cases in UK. Most cases are reported against the stories by kiss-and-tell tabloids and photographs taken by freelance paparazzi. For instance, celebrity footballer David Bekham and pop star Victoria Bekham and members of British monarchy consistently tr ied to limit press interference into their personal lives (Drake, 2007, p.220). Apparently, seclusion limitations seems to be defined clearly, however, there is no statute in either English or sparing law that can be attributed as Privacy Act. In addition, the publicity or personality rights are also not evident. Contrary to defamation or copyright laws, under no specific law we can hold some newspaper responsible for intruding into any individuals or celebritys privacy. This scenario has led to extending the existing legislation in order to contain privacy cogitate cases and to establish the concept in English law courts (Drake, 2007, p.220). Lacking legislation triggered the attempts to define privacy in UK AND Calcutt Committee defined it as the right of the individual to be protected against intrusion to his personal life or affairs, or those of his family, direct physical means or by publication of information (1990, p.7 cited in Drake, 2007, p.221). Absence of a general law for privacy led to the utilization of common law in such cases. It includes the 1998 Data Protection Act, 1997