Whether to Publish a Rape Victim's Name - Essay Example

Ethical and legal Questions on Rape Victims In the world of journalism, some recommendation require better handling because they are issues that are very sensitive and require due care in order to execute proper response. In the venture of posting a rape victim’s name through newspaper, have ethical and legal consequences. This short essay will postulate the consequences by tackling a number of points relative to the subject in question. When the name of the rape victim is published on paper, several questions are raised especially from the public.

On question that is common is inquiry on the person or the persons that contributed to the heinous act (Brown & Jay 34). This raises both ethical and legal aspect in which the police might fall in the pressure of the public to expedite the findings on the people involve. This consequentially gives wrong leads and the police might end up with the wrong people. The legal aspect is that the police might face liability later upon deeper findings on how the real culprits. The editor or the news director must consider whether the rape victim is okay with the story being shared with other people.

The rape aspect is a sensitive aspect and therefore requires the media to confide to the victim on whether to publish the story. Publishing the story without informing the victim is contrary to private life and amounts to unethical standards on a professional journalism career (McBride & Tom 12). Rape victims normally undergo tough situations and suffer from illnesses like posttraumatic stress (Smith 19). Therefore, they tend to shy away from anything that reminds them of the ordeal. Therefore, according to journalism standards, an editor must consider whether the victim in question is at the position of handling consequent reminders of the painful experience.

This has to be weighed b understanding the victim’s background and establish prior to the publishing. Work CitedBrown, Fred, and Jay Black. Journalism Ethics: A Casebook of Professional Conduct for News Media. Portland, Or: Marion Street Press, 2011. Internet resource.McBride, Kelly, and Tom Rosenstiel. The New Ethics of Journalism: Principles for the 21st Century. , 2014. Print.Smith, Ron. Ethics in Journalism. Hoboken: John Wiley & Sons, 2011. Internet resource.