Exploring legal restrictions when reporting on violence against women

Journalists play a powerful role in shaping public understanding of violence against women. But when legal restrictions apply, there are additional challenges in reporting responsibly and accurately while centring the voices and safety of those affected.

Join Our Watch and the RMIT Centre for Innovative Justice for a two-part webinar that will equip journalists, editors, and media professionals with the tools to navigate legal, ethical, and trauma-informed considerations when covering these stories.

About this webinar

Part 1: Exploring impacts of legal narratives and court processes on media reporting of violence against women

12:30 pm – 1:30 pm AEST

Part 1 of our webinar will explore:

the gap between what courts commonly deal with and what the media reports – and why this matters for public understanding

how legal narratives and court processes can unintentionally reinforce victim-blaming, and the impacts when these narratives are replicated in the media

how the criminal justice system could be improved to make the process less traumatic on victim-survivors

how to report on victim-survivors in a responsible, trauma-informed manner.

Moderator: Elena Campbell, Associate Director – Research, Advocacy and Policy
Speakers: Anna Coutts-Trotter, survivor and Co-founder/Director of The Survivor Hub; Zita Ngor, Justice and Human Rights Advocate, and lawyer; Christine Robinson, CEO of Wirringa Baiya.

Part 2: Exploring practical strategies for media reporting on violence against women where there are legal restrictions

1:45 pm – 2:45 pm AEST

Part 2 of our webinar will explore:

how defamation and suppressions law in Australia impacts on reporting

strategies for navigating legal constraints through reflection on specific cases

the ethical dimensions of court reporting.

Journalists will have the opportunity to submit questions they would like covered upon registration. Attendees are welcome to join both sessions.

The webinar will include a 15-minute break.

Moderator: Rebekah Hayden, Media Implementation Lead, Our Watch
Speakers: Gina McWilliams, Senior Legal Counsel, News Corp Australia, and Mark Pearson, journalist, academic and author, with Elena Campbell, Associate Director – Research, Advocacy and Policy.

Accessibility and other requirements

This session will have closed captions. To learn about other ways to register, or for questions about access or the training, please email training@ourwatch.org.au

Anna Coutts-Trotter, survivor and Co-founder/Director of The Survivor Hub

Anna Coutts-Trotter (she/her) is a cofounder and director of The Survivor Hub. Anna experienced domestic and sexual violence as a young person and endured an isolating court process as a result. Anna was inspired to create TSH to empower connection and community between survivors.

Anna is a recent graduate of Bachelor of Arts and Social Work from the University of Sydney, and is currently working as a social worker while running The Survivor Hub. She is an ambassador for National Survivors' Day and has worked with Full Stop Australia, Bumble, NSW Government and other sector stakeholders.

Gina McWilliams, Senior Legal Counsel, News Corp Australia

Gina McWilliams (she/her) has worked for News Corp since 2005. Her workday is divided between giving prepublication advice, acting in defamation, suppression/non-publication order and access matters, training journalists young and old and everything in between that happens to be media related.

She was delighted to be part of the team awarded the 2021 June Andrews Walkley Award for Women’s Leadership in Media for their work on the #LetHerSpeak/#LetThemSpeak campaign.

Mark Pearson, media law author and teacher

Mark Pearson (he/him) is a former journalist and journalism educator who is adjunct professor at Griffith University.

He has written 13 books, including 6 editions of The Journalist's Guide to Media Law and the new sole-authored Communicator's Guide to Media Law and Ethics (Routledge, 2024). His retirement hobby is teaching school students in remote communities and conducting media law training sessions.

Zita Ngor, Justice and Human Rights Advocate, and lawyer

Zita Adut Deng Ngor (she/her) has been a leader and senior executive within the private, community and not for profit sectors.

She was previously the CEO of Women’s Legal Service (SA) and currently runs her own legal practice, Adelaide Law Boutique. Zita Ngor has an active interest in working with and advocating on behalf of disadvantaged groups within society. In 2001 she received a Centenary Medal for service to the community and in 2013 she was selected, due to her expertise on violence against women, to one of three NGO delegates to the Australian Government Delegation to the Commission on the Status of Women 57.

In 2019 was selected as one of the 40 under 40 young business entrepreneurs in South Australia and was recipient of the 2019 Robyn Layton AO QC Women’s Lawyers Award. She has also just been awarded the 2024 Justice Award by the Law Society of South Australia.