The Sexual Violence Prevention Association (SVPA) has joined an open letter by Survivor Stories Deserve Better urging for changes in how the press and other storytellers cover sexual violence and survivors’ stories. The letter, written by survivor-experts in journalism, research, and academis, urges storytellers to put sexual violence survivors first when sharing their stories.
Storytellers encompass anyone who uses their platform to share stories with a broader audience, including journalists, press personnel, content creators, and advocates. Individual professionals, media institutions, content publishers, and broader press and media industries have a responsibility to speak the truth and empower survivors.
Most storytellers do not have the trauma knowledge and experience to work with survivors. Even with the best of intentions, sharing these stories often causes survivors more harm. In the process of telling their story, survivors often relive their trauma, and many feel pressured or shamed into sharing. There must be more consideration from storytellers and a framework for survivors who are the subject of media coverage to advocate for themselves.
“Journalism’s purpose is to report what is happening in our community, country, and society. It should hold power accountable and ask the tough questions that everyday people need to know. When the press uses certain framing and biases, it skews our very understanding of reality. For far too long, this has skewed our understanding of sexual violence. Survivors deserve better framing and an intentional anti-rape-culture lens. We all deserve journalism that interrogates power, questioning why sexual violence continues to run rampant and how we can prevent it,” said SVPA CEO and Founder, Omny Miranda Martone.
The role of media and the responsibility for the press and other storytellers to properly care for survivor stories is a core theme to the SVPA’s work on SORVO. More specifically, SORVO explains oppressive institutions use the media to falsify and sensationalize sexual violence committed by the certain groups in order to justify oppressing them.
For example, the US government accuses immigrants and trans people of being rapists and pedophiles. They use these false and sensationalized claims to justify detaining immigrants, banning trans people from bathrooms and sports, and other oppressive policies. In reality, immigrants and trans people are far more likely to be victims of sexual violence than their non-immigrant and cis peers. This face is omitted or erased by the US government.
The media has a responsibility to share the stories of immigrants and trans people who have survived sexual violence. Further, the media has a responsibility to
The Survivor Stories Deserve Better open letter details the risks for survivors who receive media coverage and aims to inform storytellers of the potential harm they may cause. The letter lists 17 proposals to guide ethical reporting and sexual violence coverage. These proposals are rooted in existing practices in the field of survivor support, academic literature, and knowledge grounded in decades of grassroots feminist anti-violence organizing. They range from building up knowledge about trauma to never using AI without consent, all aiming to prioritize the well-being of survivors and storytellers.
We are proud to join this initiative taking action towards survivor-informed journalism and accurate sexual violence reporting!
Read the Survivor Stories Deserve Better letter and learn about each proposal. Sign on to join the SVPA and many others pledging to adopt these principles and encourage survivor stories.
