The United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has hailed Child’s Rights International (CRI), a child centred civil society organisation, for putting together the Child Protection Code of Ethics for Journalists.
Ms Johanna Eriksson Takyo, Chief Protection Programme, UNICEF Ghana, said code of ethics would be instrumental in promoting good reporting ethics among journalists, and support them to pay greater attention to rights of children.
She said the Code of Ethics, dubbed, “Making the Worth of Children Matter through Reporting”, would serve as a very critical step for Ghanaian journalists.
“UNICEF will be happy to continue to work closely with you for the promotion of children’s issues across the country,” Ms Takyo stated on Tuesday in Accra at the launch of Child Protection Code of Ethics for Journalists.
“For highlighting concerns regarding protection of children – when children are subjected to violence, abuse and exploitation – but also helping to celebrate the good stories, the progress that is being made – and to provide a space and a plat form for children’s voices, views and perspectives to be heard.
“UNICEF is very happy to be part of today’s Launch of the Child Protection code of ethics for journalists and very happy that our support to CRI indeed generated this important document,” she added.
She said: “Every day when we open the newspapers, there are stories about children being covered. As the UN children’s Agency, we believe this is very good of course.”
She said the advancement of children’s rights, the good that happens to children – and the bad – should be talked about as a way to promote the public discourse and discussion on child development related issues.
“However, when opening the papers, we often also see children’s rights further violated by the way children are portrayed.
“The pictures that are revealing the face and identify of the girl who has been trafficked or raped, the very detailed account of what happened to a child who was abused, the gory picture of a body of a child who died because of maltreatment,” she said.
Ms Takyo said: “For UNICEF, these children are all heroes; some are survivors and they are all victims – often in the hands of those who they trusted the most, their parents, their uncles, their neighbours.”
She said these children don’t have to be victimized again; victimized by the way they are portrayed in the media.
“Children have their right to have their story told in public, but it must be done with respect and with dignity,” she said.
“The new Child and Family Welfare Policy, approved by the Cabinet in February 2015 recognizes that protecting children from violence, abuse and exploitation is the responsibility of everyone – government, the media, civil society, traditional leaders, religious leaders, parents and community members,” she said.
The Code of Ethics was developed by the CRI in collaboration with the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) and the National Media Commission, with funding from UNICEF.
The Code seeks to expand and entrench article 14 and 15 of the GJA Code of Ethics; which also emphasises the need to report child related issues in a manner that guarantees the safety of children in Ghana as a national development issue.
She said the Code of Ethics would directly contribute to the fulfilment of the expectations of the new Child and Family Welfare Policy.
Mr Bright Kweku Appiah, the Executive Director of CRI, said the purpose of the document is to address a wide range of issues affecting children and also serve as a guideline for journalists for the common goal of seeking the best of children when reporting.
Dr Affail Monney, the President of the GJA, said the literal child abuse by the media should be confined to the dustbin of history.
Source: GNA
