On May 17, 2023, the Ukrainian media massively shared the story originally published by the online publication Zaxid.net “Name of Lviv Pedophile Deacon Now Known” about a clergyman suspected of sexual violence. In particular, the materials were published by:
- Online publication “Tvoie misto” (Your City) under the heading “Name of Lviv Deacon Who Molested Underage Daughter Now Known”
- Online publication “Channel 24” under the heading “She Told the Story When She Grew Up: We Now Know the Name of Lviv Deacon Who Molested Own Daughter”
- Online publication “Drohobych Community Speaking” under the heading “Name of Lviv Deacon Who Molested His Underage Daughter for Years Now Known”
- Online publication “RIVNE.MEDIA” under the heading “Served in a Monastery in Rivne Oblast: Name of Lviv Deacon Who Molested Daughter Now Known”
- Online publication “Varta1” under the heading “Lviv Deacon Who Molested Own Daughter to Be Tried (PHOTO)”
- Internet publication “Time of Action” under the heading “Served in a Rivne Monastery: New Details Emerge of a Lviv Pedophile Deacon,” and others.
The Commission on Journalistic Ethics condemns playing up such sensitive topics as child sexual abuse, as well as publications with excessive details of the crime for the sake of increasing ratings and clickbait.
The Commission particularly notes the publication of the suspect’s name, who is the survivor’s father. The original source, Zaxid.net, published the last name of the suspected deacon, whom the investigation believes to have molested his own daughter for years. Such publication makes the survivor, who may have become an adult before the moment of the publication, identifiable.
This information invades privacy and can easily lead to harassment, stalking and prejudice against the affected individual.In the future, this may lead to serious issues with the survivor’s mental health and privacy.
The Ethics Code of the Ukrainian Journalist warns media professionals to exercise caution while covering issues related to minors (clause 18). Journalists and editors must have reasonable grounds for covering the private life of a minor (minors) and permission to do so from their parents or guardians. It is unacceptable to reveal the names of minors (or to publish information which makes them identifiable) who were involved in, or targeted by, illegal activities or in events related to violence.
In addition, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics points out that reporting on crimes related to sexual violence, particularly against children, requires additional care because this subject is highly sensitive and may pose a danger to the child.
In case of such crimes, the last name of the suspect can only be published with consent of the survivor or in case of public necessity. However, even if consent is obtained, journalists must be careful and predict possible negative consequences of such disclosure. The right of the public to know personal information must outweigh the potential harm from its publication, in exceptional cases. In this case, it was not proven or even marginally explained what public interest would be protected by these excessive details.
In addition, the Commission on Journalistic Ethics emphasizes that the media focused too much on the violence, in particular, the online outlet “Channel 24” provides excessive detail of the crime: “It is striking that the deacon first molested his daughter when she was still in elementary school,” “when the child was at home with his father, lying on the bed with him, and watching a movie together, the father took off the underwear he was wearing and started to run his hand over his genitals, then he took her hand and put it on his penis, moving her hand alongside it and saying, try it yourself”; and also “In addition, Burdyk beat his naked daughter on the buttocks. For this, he used his hands, a belt, a plastic tube, a jumping rope or a wooden rod. It is also known that he forced the girl to jerk him off and forced her to engage in oral sex,” and other details.
The Commission on Journalistic Ethics again emphasizes the importance of prior training of journalists on the ethical issues of covering sexual violence. Among other things, they should use the Murad Code — a global ethical code to guide the practice of collecting and using information about sexual violence, including war-related sexual violence.
The journalists should focus not on drawing public attention to the survivor or their family but to discussing the crime, following a comprehensive investigation, and seeing that the court issues a fair verdict.
The Commission on Journalistic Ethics recommends that while covering criminal cases on sexual crimes against children, journalists adhere to the following rules:
- Avoid the dissemination of information that allows the identification of suspects, survivors, and their relatives in order to avoid unjustified identification not only by name and last name, but also by photo, address and other information that can reveal the identity of the survivor to a certain circle of their environment (in particular, the community, relatives, neighbors, friends).
- Maintain a balance between informing the public and excessive intrusion into private life.
- The material should contain enough information to draw attention to the crime, but not by providing too much information and details of the crime — in order to avoid traumatizing the audience. The discussion of this high-profile case should take place in order to contribute to preventing similar crimes in the future, as opposed to entertaining the audience.
- It is important not only to “impress” your audience, but also to help them receive important information. In particular, it would make sense to explain where and how a survivor can obtain help in case of sexual violence, addresses of shelters and crisis centers, contact information of hotlines.
The Commission on Journalistic Ethics reminds of its Statement on Improper Media Coverage of Rape of an Underage Girl in Zakarpattia of March 31, 2023, as well as the educational media “On Children, with Care, Always.”