Request to media from Our Watch
February 20 2020 By OUR WATCH MEDIA
The violent killing of Hannah Clarke and her children in Camp Hill raises the issue of violence against women and the urgent need for greater public awareness of this national emergency.
Our Watch strongly urges journalists reporting on these tragedies and similar stories to do it in a way that informs, educates, and contributes usefully to a public dialogue about the issue of violence against women.
We ask the Australian media to utilise the freely available
Our Watch guidelines when covering stories that involve violence against women and remind media of the importance of helping readers, listeners and viewers understand the issue by contextualising the story with statistics. A woman's actions or profession should in no way be used justify or minimise her death.
The Our Watch guidelines include:
- Statistics on violence against women in Australia
- Key advice that gendered-violence should always be named as such, and not minimalised or trivialised by calling it other things
- Important resources including a list of community services and experts on domestic violence to go to for comment
In addition to the contacts for local support services, journalists are reminded to always list the following tagline at the end of the story:
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
MEDIA CONTACTS
Saraya Musovic, Senior Media and Communications Advisor
Telephone: 0448 844 930
Email: media@ourwatch.org.au
ABOUT OUR WATCH
Our Watch is a national leader in Australia's work to stop violence against women and their children before it starts. The organisation was created to drive nation-wide change in the structures, norms and practices that lead to violence against women and children.