How to report on sexualized violence in the #MeToo era: 10 do’s and don’ts

More than two years after sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein fueled the #MeToo movement, on January 6, a criminal trial against him is finally beginning. Weinstein will have to answer for his behavior in court, perhaps (hopefully) prompting yet another milestone moment for women who want to speak out about their own rape or sexual assault. If a second wave of reckoning is about to come, it will give those of us in the media a new chance to get the telling of these delicate stories right. And even if it doesn’t, you may already have ventured into this kind of reporting and want to do your best to honor your sources, women and men who may face retribution and/or shaming because they have chosen to no longer stay silent about their attack.

For too many women (and, to a lesser extent, men) in the U.S., sexual abuse is a part of their home lives, workplaces, and public spaces. The stories to tell are endless. The ways to tell them are too. Unfortunately, the disappointing and sometimes harmful ways the media handles these stories still pervade journalism.

I’m not going to tell you not to ask whether she was drunk, what she was wearing, or what she did to provoke the attack — I’m going to assume (and hope) that if you’re reading this, you’re way beyond that. Yes, ask whether she reported the assault/harassment to authorities or to friends and/or family. Try to speak to whomever she or he reported it to. Review documents of the complaint or medical records if they exist (if you have permission from the survivor). And, because there is always a way for journalists to do better, here are 10 things I’ve learned in my years of extensive reporting on sexualized violence that may help you navigate this most sensitive kind of reporting:

Do:

1. Approach survivors carefully and with dignity. Do you have a good source who knows the woman (or man, but for this guide, I’m using “woman” since the majority of sexual assault survivors are female)? Has this person said that she is in a stable or healthy emotional state to speak with a reporter? Recognize that the survivor has been through a trauma and deserves your respect and care in the way you broach the idea of reporting their story. Remember that your source is putting a tremendous amount of trust in you to listen and communicate their experience accurately. And most of all, remember that while this may be just a story to you, this is your source’s life, and one of the darkest parts of it at that.
2. Explain why you want to tell their story so they get a sense that you are not exploiting them — which will help you understand whether you actually are and catch yourself if so. Do you need this person’s story for your article? Are you actually exploiting them? No reporter wants to think they would do such a thing, but the best way to avoid it is to actually ask yourself.
3. Protect your source. She may be subject to recriminations by the man (or men) who raped her, or the man’s family, friends, or colleagues. Does she understand what using her name and/or face in your story means — i.e., who will see it? I’ve heard journalists say that the story is only local or will only be seen by people in a certain country. This is just not true (because…Internet), and it is smart to remind your source of this. If she is pursuing legal action, be mindful that what you publish could have an impact on her case. It is best practice to speak with her lawyer or another lawyer who deals with such cases before publishing.
4. Speak to experts who can provide context. Context on the community your source is part of, on the effects of trauma, on how rape is used as a weapon in particular situations, etc.
5. Ask or challenge the woman’s workplace/boss/HR department (in case of workplace harassment or assault) as to how they are handling the issue and the specific case. Is there a set policy on how to handle sexual assault? Have there been other cases reported? What sorts of changes is that newsroom/academic department/government office planning to make in light of this? How are they documenting cases? Are they investigating allegations? How?

Don’t:

1. Report purely based on an accusation without doing due diligence. If a woman says a man sexually assaulted or harassed her, ask her if she told others after it happened and, if so, whether you can speak to them. But do recognize that there is rarely a case in which a survivor stands to benefit from coming forward about an attack. They face recriminations, public airing of a painful matter, and ridicule from parts of society that blame the victim. Researchers estimate that the rate of false rape reporting is 2-10 percent; compare that to the percentage of rapes that go unreported — fully 75 percent, according to the Department of Justice. So worry more about what’s going unsaid than what is being said.
2. Ignore the alleged perpetrator. Speak to him. See if there are inconsistencies in how he talks about the alleged incident. And yes, all incidents remain “alleged” and people “accused” or “suspected” without clear and convincing evidence or legal conviction. At the same time, don’t bow to pressure from men’s rights groups and others who (falsely) try to claim most rape allegations are false (see above), therefore the one you’re reporting on is too. Because they will.
3. Speaking of allegations and belief, don’t dismiss an accusation just because you can’t find easy corroborating evidence. Seek out others who may have also been affected — whether as witnesses or victims themselves. Patterns of behavior can help establish guilt or innocence. Because it bears repeating: Survivors have nothing to gain and everything to lose from lying about sexual assault.
4. Think that dissembling, confusion, or lack of precision in memories on the part of a survivor indicates lying. Traumatized survivors may not tell their story in a linear way, and while this can be frustrating as you try to establish a timeline of events, recognize that this is basically beyond your control. Pushing a traumatized survivor to tell things a certain way can result in clamming up or retraumatization. Study up on the effects of trauma on memory. Along those same lines, do let your source lead the telling, but also reroute back to the details you need to gather in order to tell the story well.
5. Rush. Don’t push your source to dive right into the details of her assault (which I’ve seen happen many times). It can take time and effort to make a trauma survivor comfortable. You are asking them to relive one of the most painful experiences of their life, and you risk doing harm if you’re not careful. This circles back to Do number one: Take care in your approach at every step of this kind of reporting and always keep in mind the dignity — the humanity — of the person who is generously telling you their story.   

Written by Lauren Wolfe, former Director of WMC Women Under Siege.

WMC related research and resources

#MeToo: The Women’s Media Center Report: A year following revelations in The New York Times about decades of allegations against movie producer Harvey Weinstein, the #MeToo movement has led to a significant change in the way media covers stories about sexual assault and harassment.

http://www.womensmediacenter.com/reports/media-and-metoo-how-a-movement-affected-press-coverage-of-sexual-assault 

Writing Rape: How U.S. Media Cover Rape and Sexual Assault: WMC Media coverage of U.S. campus rape and sexualized violence is significantly skewed toward the bylines and voices of men.

http://www.womensmediacenter.com/about/press/press-releases/writing-rape-womens-media-center-study-finds-crucial-gap-in-coverage-gender 

Writing Rape: How U.S. Media Cover Rape and Sexual Assault infographic

http://www.womensmediacenter.com/reports/writing-rape-infographic