November 28th, 2012
onaissues
Poynter. » Why Washington Post journalist first wrote about her rape, 28 years later

Mallary Tenore examines how journalists report on rape after Melinda Henneberger, reporter at the Washington Post, decided to share her story about being raped years ago.

One in six women will be sexually assaulted during her lifetime, and 97 percent of rapists will never spend a day in jail, recent statistics show. Based on those figures, someone in your newsroom has been sexually assaulted.

Being aware of this reality informs our decisions when we assign stories and report them. When we understand that sexual assault is common, we’re less likely to make assumptions about our colleagues and our sources. We may also be less inclined to make comments that belittle the severity of sexual assault — and more inclined to cover it as an ongoing issue rather than as a one-time event.

Too often, journalists write about sexual assaults right after they occur and neglect to write follow-ups that highlight how traumatic these assaults can be. 

Read more on Poynter.

220 notes·
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