Our Watch has developed new guidelines for best practice image use when reporting on violence against women. Our Watch also provides a lot of useful tips on interviewing and sources you can turn to if you are writing about violence against women.
Images and vision are vital to telling a story and can be a powerful way to improve community understanding of violence against women. When used sensitively, they can contribute to ending harmful stereotypes of violence, victim-survivors and perpetrators.
What are harmful stereotypes? They are images that make many of us think that we know what ‘one of those people’ looks like, but often they are cliches, that don’t capture the range of real sitations. For example, if domestic violence stories are always accompanied by a picture of a woman with a bruised face, the impression given is that unless you have bruises on your face you are not a real victim. This is dangerous, as it can discourage people who are in danger from seeking safety.
The guide covers imagery tips for reporting on violence and abuse, using a strengths-based approach, working with victim-survivors to create images, and guidance for producers and editors on building a database that supports respectful image use and creation.
We hope you will find this new guide valuable to support your excellent reporting on violence against women.
