Fatal Domestic Abuse Reporting Creates Additional Trauma For Families. Together With Level Up And AAFDA We Are Calling For Better Reporting Standards.
Wednesday, 8th, December 2020
Two in three families bereaved by fatal domestic abuse have had their grieving process damaged by the press. These are the findings of a landmark report published today surveying 15 families bereaved by fatal domestic abuse.
This report, a collaboration between myself, Level Up, the feminist campaign group and AAFDA (Advocacy After Fatal Domestic Abuse), a domestic homicide review charity, is pushing to help create better reporting standards.
Fatal domestic abuse reporting has long published dangerous and re-traumatising headlines/stories that live online forever, haunting families. These stories can only be complained about to the press regulator, IPSO, by the victims' family, not by the public.
Having experienced irresponsible reporting first hand during the murder trial of my mother in 2011 and her appeal in 2019 I became frustrated with the amount of damaging victim blaming headlines that went unchallenged following numerous complaints. This was something I wrote about earlier this year for The Telegraph and Al Jazeera.
This landmark report now gives us an evidence-based survey to push for stronger regulation and greater trust with victims families who want to share their stories to help stop fatal domestic abuse.