In Albania, audiovisual media often violate children's rights, especially in sensitive cases, such as sexual abuse. As reporters strive to be the first to break the most sensational news, they often do so at the expense of underage victims, exposing their identities and risking further harm.
Author ACQJ editorial office
"Reports with deficiencies regarding the protection of the rights of abused children often occur in our media, as the journalist, in order to survive in the labor market, finds it easier to harm a sexually abused child than to says: "No!" editor-in-chief. This is absurdity", says Altin Hazizaj, head of the organization CRCA/ECPAT ALBANIA.
The event in Pogradec in the first days of January 2024, with a young man arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing his stepmother's minor daughter, shocked the local community and the entire public opinion, as soon as this story filled the front pages of MEDIA online and television screens. The details that were revealed from this story, added to the publication by the media of the minor's statement to the police, turned this event into the "story of the week".
In such cases, the media is not satisfied with the news, but starts the series, presenting detail after detail.
However, according to the professionals of the child protection system, referring to a study of Land of men, 2015 "Sexual Abuse of Children Within the Circle of Faith in Albania", the media exaggerates in reporting cases and the language used by it is inappropriate. Also, media professionals expressed their opinion Land of men that they often manipulate the news of child sexual abuse, emphasizing and exaggerating details, which give an erotic or pornographic color to the news. Something like this is done for more sensation.
Bad news is good news for the media, so even in the case of Pogradec, as in most cases, when we deal with such stories, journalists flocked to the family of the abused to learn more...
This is another problem for Miklovana Dobronik, capacity building specialist at the organization Land of men, which estimates that in many cases the media focuses more on the victim and his/her family than on the abuser or the phenomenon.
In the reports that were made about the event in Pogradec, many media failed to comply with the Code of Ethics, the law "On the Rights and Protection of Children", law no. 97/2013 "On Audiovisual Media in the Republic of Albania", as well as the Broadcasting Code of the Audiovisual Media Authority, approved by the Audiovisual Media Authority. (AMA)
In a letter dated January 25, 2024, the AMA Grievance Council drew the attention of the company MTSC LLC., for the subject TV Report, as during the direct connection with the correspondent of Korça, during the reporting of the case of suspected abuse of a minor, the details of the suspected perpetrator, his father, as well as the details of the mother of the suspected victim were made public, automatically leading to the identification her, indirect. In this report, the Complaints Council found a violation of Law 97/2013, "On Audiovisual Media in the Republic of Albania", as amended, according to which: "The activity of audiovisual transmissions specifically respects the rights, interests and moral and legal requirements for the protection of minors", as well as "in the programs broadcast by OSHMA, the right to privacy of the person's private life should not be violated".
However, TV Report is not the only media that violated the law, not respecting the rights of children during audiovisual broadcasts. AMA has found violations in different periods of time in the TV program "Big Brother Albania" or "Albania LIVE" in Top Channel.
Albania is a small country and local events do not take long to be learned by almost the entire community. Meanwhile, the media, which is considered the fourth power in a democratic system, with the primary function of informing, but also educating, does not hesitate to often reveal through reports the identity of an abused, neglected, bullied or abused child.
The problems identified by the State Agency for Children's Rights and Protection are mainly related to unethical reporting of children's cases in the media, such as privacy violations, indirect identification of children - victims of sexual abuse or children in contact/conflict with the law, etc. . Also, cases of using children for benefits in social networks by family relatives have been found.
Despite the law and the Code of Ethics, a part of the media still continues not to apply the basic principles of protecting the identity of children, showing their image in the media, often interviewing them without the approval of their parents or in the presence of a psychologist, as and directly or indirectly making public their identity.
For Koloreto Cukali, head of the Albanian Media Council, this happens, "because every media strikes a balance, to be ethical or to have an audience and clickability, and the media live with anxiety: "Look, I didn't reveal the name, he will reveal it the other". The Albanian audience has been ill-educated over the years and the interest of the audience is now to know names and places and not to be informed about the phenomenon. The audience will choose the media, which releases the name. Publishers have understood and try to, even when professional ethics do not allow them, to have the tendency to publish something. The traditional media often abuses the trust of the victims, for example: if a parent comes and asks for help, that parent, being uninformed that, by coming out on his own, debunks the child as well, you can't say: "The parent wanted it, that is the guardian of the child". The professional protects that parent, protects him and therefore also protects the child. It is shameful, a violation that is done on purpose. The reason, if you get down to the root, is money, the need to stay in the market.
This makes even experienced journalists break the rules."
Pediatrician Lira Gjika says that "We do not consider the child, especially journalism, social networks, who wants the news in a hungry way, just to create a sensation, to attract an audience. They feed without politeness and a delight in the excitement of fear. Ethics are violated and, if you see it, we are unethical. We have no limits".
Reporting incidents of child abuse or exploitation is an ethical challenge.
There is a silent pact and an unwritten rule among the media: that of publishing the initials of the victims, with the claim that in this way they are protecting him from the disclosure of his identity, a procedure which is often followed by police bodies during media announcements .
"Even when I initial it, the child knows his initials and he feels humiliated, he has always felt humiliated. Even if no one understands, he feels ashamed, he feels guilty. It is not easy, he then withdraws into himself or becomes violent", says pediatrician Lira Gjika.
The wide spread of media and increased competition has lowered the bar of ethics.
"The media has a rule, a principle: Do no harm. If we take only this principle as a basis and see how journalists apply it, we will see that they do not recognize the principle, even though it is universal. Second, in the pressure of the world online, for more like, to be identified as journalists, not only violate the principle with both feet, but do harm beyond what they call "identification of the child". It is abnormal, that at the moment an incident of sexual violence has occurred, you go to interview the victim. She is still under the effect of the trauma, but there is also an investigation, which is not over yet. Details, interviewing the victim or the family members are illogical", says Altin Hazizaj.
Shocking story/"Two years of sexual abuse"
The testimony of a 12-year-old girl from the south of the country in the show Without a Trace: "I was 10 and a half years old, I was about to turn 11."
Such details, which indicate the age when a minor was sexually abused for the first time, have no purpose of informing the public. The head of the Albanian Media Council, Koloreto Cukali, estimates that the publication of such delicate details in such events is something intentional and has nothing to do with a lack of professionalism.
"I don't believe that there is a journalist who graduated from journalism school and I don't know that the child should not be identified. Even initials, when given, should not be given truthfully. There are neither editors nor chief editors who do not know this. It's just a desperate attempt to please the audience. It is a national and regional problem, a problem that has nothing to do with education, schooling or proper training, as long as you work in a media. It is simply a willful violation. Accidental cases are very rare. The main responsibility falls to the editor-in-chief, as the filters are important."
In its work, the media is inclined to follow an event step by step, to verify the facts, to inform the public, but when the event focuses on the violence or abuse of a child, often the media, instead of becoming a shield for the victim, turns to The Trojan Horse for her.
The head of the organization CRCA, with a focus on the protection of children's rights, estimates that the media in Albania does not have a positive leadership and that journalists, despite having ethical rules, themselves have a powerful element in their hands, which is self-control.
"Knowing, when to stop yourself, not to take a step that could harm you as a journalist, the victim or the whole process. In the professional sense there is a serious deficiency. There is another shortcoming, giving precise instructions to journalists. There are people who are attracted by the sensation, but the positive thing is to educate the public. Even if the journalists make a mistake, there is an editor who does not allow it, even if the latter makes a mistake, it is the editor-in-chief. These links in the Albanian media are failing".
When reporting cases of mistreatment, abuse or crimes against children, journalists must be careful in the language used and in providing information, otherwise the harm to the child is great. From the experience in his organization, Altin Hazizaj states that, "the person, instead of being rehabilitated, will continue to have serious problems from the case. The trauma (which also depends on the child) will not last a certain amount of time and then the person will start to recover, but will continue to suffer these things longer."
"Most of the victims of sexual abuse are girls, we have had cases where many of them have left school because they are afraid of the community. The child feels attacked, the event has been published in the media and a lot of damage has been done. Victims re-experience events over a long period of time. In this regard, parents are also to blame. In most of the cases we have had, after the event, they see the event as an opportunity to benefit financially in many aspects, also due to the fact that in most cases the events happen in poor families and in poor socio-economic conditions" , - says Hazizaj.
The State Agency for Children's Rights and Protection continues cooperation with AMA.
From 2020 to 2023, ASHMDF sent 52 complaints to AMA, while for 2024, 4 cases were reported, of which three cases were examined and a response was returned by AMA. A case is pending.
The Complaints Council at the AMA during 2020 reviewed 123 complaints, 39 of which concerned the violation of children's rights and their privacy, and at the end of the review, it drew the attention of televisions in 36 cases, where 12 of them are for violation of children's rights. During 2021, over 300 complaints were reviewed, 35% (105) with the object of violation of children's rights, of their privacy, while during 2022, 310 complaints were administered, 99 of which with the object of violation of children's rights.
Compared to the past 10 years, the head of KSHM, Koloreto Cukali, estimates that "we have a continuous regression and that, unfortunately, it will continue, as long as the media are not financially independent".
Regarding the role of state institutions, pediatrician Lira Gjika says: "Structures have been built for the well-being of abused children, even though the experience of psychologists is not very great. They are young professionals, they do a great job with those children, they are to be praised".
While for Mr. Hazizaj, "in Albania we have a lack of reporting due to fear, taboos. Children are not trusted in the family". As far as the state is concerned, there is a problem in terms of Services. Excluding Shkodra, Fier and Tirana, no city offers these specialized Services. Professional service does not mean only the operation of the police, prosecutor's office, psychologist, social service, school, but all Services must be provided in a single center. All over the world it is called Barnahus or in Albanian "children's home". Instead of these Services going to the child, the child goes to the Services. There is a need for work protocols, but more for legal changes", he says.
The media is the one that, through its role, should be able to make the community aware of the possible dangers of violence or abuse against children.
Despite the regulations and codes of ethics that exist for the protection of children, the Albanian media often fail to respect these essential principles. Instead of protecting the minor victims, they engage in a race to publish shocking details, often exacerbating their trauma. It is time that, first, media professionals change their approach to these cases, so that children do not become double victims - of abuse and unethical reporting.
