ලිංගික අපරාධ වාර්තා කිරීමේදී, සැහැල්ලු කොට දැක්වීම, හැඟීම් කළඹවන සුළු ආකාරයෙන් වාර්තා කිරීම සහ 'දූෂණය', 'කෙළෙසීම' යන යෙදුම් භාවිතා කිරීම

Abstract

On the 1st of September Sinhala newspapers Dinamina and Mawbima reported of an incident where a 19 year old man had abused a 14 year-old girl whom he had run away with. The newspaper headlines had trivialised the headlines in a manner in which the true nature of the crime was not apparent. On the 5th of September, Sinhala newspapers published articles about a Sri Lankan migrant worker from Kuwait had returned to Sri Lanka with a sum of money given to her because she had been a victim of a sex crime. Mawbima, Lankadeepa, Ada and Divaina reported this while mentioning that this lady had received compensation. But Aruna used the word "dooshanaya" to highlight the reason for this girl to get this compensation. On the 6th of September the sexual abuse of a 7 year-old girl was reported. Divaina trivialised this sex crime, while Dinamina did not, but reported it in an ethical way. On the 12th of September Dinamina reported an incident of sexual abuse by using the word "dooshanaya". On the 13th of September Dinamina published two articles with headlines that trivialised sexual abuse. On the 13th of September Hiru TV reported an incident where a school teacher had sexually abused female school going students. Hiru TV had sensationalised the incident by referring to the act of sexual abuse as 'mal kekulu thala'. On the 18th of September Dinamina published a headline which trivialised the sexual abuse faced by an Irish lady at a Spa. On the 19th of September Sinhala newspapers published headlines about Dhanushka Gunatilake coming to court to attend his trial on the allegations of sex crimes being committed by him. Divaina, Lankadeepa and Dinamina had highlighted the outer appearance of a lady who had accompanied Gunatilake to the court complex, in a sensational manner. But Mawbima only mentioned that a lady who was not the plaintiff, accompanied Gunatillake to the court complex. On the 21st of September it was reported that a man who had sexually abused his wife's under-aged younger sister had been sentenced to 14 years in prison. Aruna and Dinamina used the word "dooshanaya" to describe the sex crime, while Ada and Divaina reported the incident in an ethical manner. On the 20th and 25th of September, it was reported that a young Buddhist monk who had been selling tapes containing sexual content related to children, had been arrested. Ada, Mawbima, Lankadeepa, Dinamina and Aruna had reported this in a way that reflected the seriousness of the crime, while Divaina had trivialised it reporting of the same. On the 27th of September, it was reported that a former army soldier who had sexually abused his young niece had been given a prison sentence. Lankadeepa and Divaina had used the words 'dooshanaya' and 'kelesu' to trivialise the crime. But Dinamina, Mawbima and Ada had reported this incident in an ethical manner.