IPSO’s Standards Officer Rosemary Douce discusses IPSO’s latest information for the public on the reporting of domestic abuse and the Women’s Aid National Conference 2022.
This week IPSO’s Standards team presented a workshop at the Women’s Aid National Conference in Birmingham, to promote the launch of a new information leaflet for the public about the reporting of domestic abuse.
The leaflet is intended for survivors and victims of domestic abuse, their families and friends, and organisations who support them. It covers the rules the press should follow and can help people to decide whether they want to speak to the press about their experiences or not.
It is in the public interest that the press is free to report on important societal issues such as domestic abuse. Domestic abuse affects people throughout society and at every stage of life.
There are many reasons why newspapers and magazines might report on the subject including:
The new leaflet can assist people who wish to speak to the press about their experiences, and provides information for those who do not want to speak to the press, including how to deal with potential press intrusion.
In producing the leaflet, IPSO spoke to relevant stakeholders including Women’s Aid, whose Head of Media and Comms, Teresa Parker introduced our workshop at the conference. Teresa’s work engaging with different sectors of the media, ranges from training for newsrooms to consulting with television script writers about domestic abuse storylines.
IPSO’s workshop was well attended and the audience of professionals working in the field of domestic abuse were engaged and asked plenty of challenging questions.
The theme of the 2022 conference was “Come Together to End Domestic Abuse,” part of a two-year campaign with the aim of prompting real societal attitudinal change. We can all come together to play a role in changing attitudes towards and representations of domestic abuse by engaging with each other, and having open conversations in our communities and workplaces.
If you have been affected by domestic abuse, Women’s Aid offer support and information here: https://www.womensaid.org.uk/
Teresa Parker’s guest blog for IPSO on reporting domestic abuse can be found here: https://www.ipso.co.uk/news-press-releases/blog/guest-blog-reporting-domestic-abuse-this-international-womens-day/
IPSO’s new information leaflet is available in pdf format here: https://www.ipso.co.uk/media/2185/ipso-domestic-abuse-public.pdf
More information for the public on a range of topics can be found in our advice for the public web portal.
The Independent Press Standards Organisation C.I.C. is a Community Interest Company limited by guarantee and registered in England and Wales with registered number 02538908.
