බාලවයස් අපයෝජනයක් පිළිබඳ අනුමත කළ හැකි වාර්තාකරණයක් ද?

Abstract

On July 17, 2024, the Divaina newspaper reported a case involving the abuse of a boy abused by a dancing teacher. The headline used the trivialising phrase “Waradi pare rasa soyagena giya” (වැරදි පාරේ රස සොයාගෙන ගිය), while the article itself used the appropriate term “apayojanaya” (අපයෝජනය). The headline fails to acknowledge that the incident is child sexual abuse. Using such language is unethical, as it normalises the offence and downplays its seriousness. Media are advised to avoid derogatory or such trivialising terms, especially in sensitive contexts, to maintain ethical reporting standards as they normalise the offence and diminish its seriousness.