Conversation: Reporting on Allegations of Child Abuse

Recent allegations of historic child abuse made against high-profile public figures has opened up a new space for victims of abuse to come forward. Issues, more usually shrouded in silence, are receiving an unprecedented level of media attention. Reporting on allegations of institutional child abuse - and child protection issues in general - pose journalists with unique challenges. How does one work with sources in ways that  serve the journalistic inquiry but minimise the risk of compounding the original harm? And, furthermore, what do reporters themselves need to know about maintaining their own resilience when working on traumatic stories? 

 

This informal Dart Centre forum will bring together journalists who have been working on child abuse stories and provide an opportunity to share insight, practical reporting tips and lessons learned, colleague to colleague. The discussion will be introduced by Alex Renton, contributing editor to the Observor Magazine, and moderated by Gavin Rees, executive director of Dart Centre Europe. Also on hand to share their experience will be Dr Sarah Heke, Director of the Institute of Psychotrauma, and Gill Moreton, Dart Centre Europe board director and lead clinician at the Rivers Centre in Edinburgh.