Publishing photos of faces of abused children against the law

Actions are an invasion of privacy and can have negative consequences on the child and the offender.

KUALA LUMPUR: The act of publishing and circulating the photograph of an abused child in print, electronic or social media, is against the law and should be stopped for the sake of the child’s future.

Communication and Multimedia Minister Ahmad Shabery Cheek said all quarters must be more responsible in dealing with information on such cases. The media should also adhere to the ethical standards in journalism.

He said all quarters should be aware that all children were protected under the Child Act 2001 (Act 601). Under Section 15 of the Act, there were restrictions on reporting and publishing pictures of child victims in criminal cases.

“It is not appropriate (to publish photos of the faces of abuse victims). All quarters, including the media, must be more responsible and adhere to the ethical standards in journalism, as well as all relevant laws.”

He said this to Bernama in response to recent cases where certain individuals and the media published and circulated photos of the faces of abused children, including the five-year-old victim in a recent abuse case in Kelantan.

Meanwhile, lawyer Azmer Mohd Saad, said that offenders charged under Section 15 of the Act, can be fined a maximum of RM10,000 or jailed for a term not exceeding five years or both.

“The Child Act was aimed at providing protection to children. In my opinion, individuals and the media should not publish photos of the faces of abused children as that could further traumatise the child”.

“The trauma experienced by a child is different from that of an adult because of different life factors,” he added.

He said from a legal point of view, photos of the face of the child could not be published. However what was allowed to be published for the purpose of educating the public about the case, were pictures of the child’s body (as long as it is not embarrassing), without any name linked to it.

Azmer said the victim, family institution or government agencies, such as the Social Welfare Department, and non-governmental organisations were entitled to lodge a police report against offenders to enable investigation and prosecution.

“Such cases will be heard in the Magistrate’s Court. The Communication and Multimedia Ministry should play an important role in this respect and act accordingly to stop it,” he said.

Another lawyer, Shah Rizal Abdul Manan, said insensitive actions by individuals and the media resulting in the publishing and circulating of photos of the faces of abused victims could have a negative psychological impact on the child.

He also advised the families involved to lodge a police report and slap the offenders with a defamation suit as a lesson to prevent others from committing similar crimes.

“No one has ever taken legal action on this issue before and that is why we still see the faces of abused victims being published. The existing law is not being properly adhered to.

“Something should be done so that children will continue to be protected,” he said, adding that the mainstream media should not allow themselves to be influenced by trends set by news portals or attention seekers in the social media.

Universiti Malaya law lecturer Dr Siti Zubaidah Ismail, on the other hand, said that publishing the photos of the face of an abused child, regardless of the original intention and motive, was also a breach of privacy rights of children.

“Breach of privacy rights seems to be a trend these days. Privacy rights should be respected. Most of those involved in social media, especially the keyboard warriors, think that everything can be uploaded. Little do they know that it may be defamatory, slandering and cause prejudice,” she said.

Siti Zubaidah said there were also cases where nurses, police personnel and even the victim’s family members were the ones who took the pictures to share with others without feeling guilty or even thinking about the victim’s future.

“Members of the media and the general public should be aware of their social responsibility. Do not humiliate abused children. Laws should be enforced. Lodge a police report or just sue those involved,” she added.

-BERNAMA