The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday released guidelines for media outlets reporting on sexual violence cases involving young people and children, specifying three situations in which they can partially report or disclose information about the cases.
The case of a teacher who allegedly sexually assaulted several children at a private preschool in Taipei was widely reported last month, raising questions about how much information about such cases media outlets are allowed to reveal to the public.
The ministry on Aug. 1 gathered representatives from media outlets, child and youth welfare groups, academic experts and officials from government agencies to discuss a set of guidelines.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
The guidelines were released yesterday, and would apply to radio and television broadcasts, promotional materials, publications and online media, the ministry said.
In sexual violence cases involving young people and children, revealing the victim’s identity is prohibited, the guidelines say.
Reporting the suspect’s identity is also prohibited if they meet one or more of three conditions: they are below the age of 18, they are a family member or intimate partner of the victim, or if reporting their identity would also reveal the victim’s identity due to their relationship.
The guidelines state that “identity information” includes names, photographs, images, voices, addresses, relatives’ names or affinity, the school name or class, work location or other information that can directly or indirectly identify the victim or suspect.
However, the guidelines also said that to prevent such cases from being concealed and affecting public interests, there are three situations that media outlets can partially report on or disclose.
First is if the suspect continues to illegally work at an education, social welfare or long-term care facility that serves people who are below the age of 18, have disabilities or are elderly.
In such a situation, media outlets can partially report or disclose the workplace of the suspect, but cannot reveal information that can lead to the victims being identified, the guidelines say.
The second situation is if the victim has become an adult and agreed to disclose the incident. However, if the victim is a person with a mental disability or is under guardianship or assistance, the information should be provided to them in understandable ways.
If the victim is under guardianship, their willingness needs to be respected and the approval of the guardian is also required.
The third situation is when competent authorities have held a review meeting and agreed that certain information regarding a case should be reported or disclosed.
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