Dear Press,
After a considerable time of observing crass and biased reporting on the National CSA Inquiry, and allegations of sexual abuse against high profile figures, I wonder if you would consider relenting biased reporting as it affects survivors on a daily basis and opens old wounds continually and leaves some survivors having breakdowns, in hospital or even in a few tragic cases, committing suicide.
I deliver newspapers across my district and I get to see contradicting, conflicting, biased and blatantly made up articles and headlines, some of which are then disproved.
I also get to see something that you collectively seemingly do not. I get to see the distressed and outraged reactions of thousands of genuine survivors and their supporters.
What I can say with confidence is that collectively you do not report on the survivors' side of things, you report in order to shock the general public, sell papers, and seemingly cover up for the systemic abuse that occurred within children's homes in the UK and young and vulnerable people without the support of loving families.
The link between this abuse and high profile figures is too strong and too evidenced to be rubbished by you, although it seems that people who read the papers keep on doing so and thus keep funding your contempt for survivors on top of the abuse and failed investigative processes that they have already suffered. And a percentage of your readers also actually believe what you print.
Is it too much to ask for you to actually look at both sides of the story? Do you think you could stop printing such outrageous statements as 'Cops didn't dare to tell public that Brittan was cleared because of fear of press fury...' or along those lines?
Any police officer with such moral cowardice should be immediately dismissed. But seeing as that isn't the real story, of course that isn't going to happen, that isn't the real story, it's the smear campaign discrediting victims story!
Out there, there are men who were raped, who have tried to get justice, and they see this rubbish published and they are left feeling undermined, losing hope that they may get justice, and reminded of what really and genuinely happened to them, yet again, because of your 'shock headlines'. I am not just talking about Leon Brittan's alleged victims, I am talking about survivors across the nation, because when the press rubbishes survivors, all survivors have to find even more strength to keep going and to keep fighting for justice, some feeling more despairing than ever of justice.
Assumptions: I have watched the Daily Mail smear Tom Watson in the past weeks, and have noted with special amusement the desparate headline's 'Watson's Uncle was a Paedophile!'
Dear God, the Mail some across as desperate to cover up for someone !
As an organization that purveys the National 'News' to the general public, the Daily Mail appear to be very narrow, ignorant and unable to grasp basic and everyday facts about abuse and abusers.
Tom Watson's Uncle being a paedophile is not in any way his fault nor is it vaguely a slur on him, the Mail really have hit new depths!
Often people who have known a paedophile, had a paedophile in the family or been abused are spurred to speak out about abuse and seek justice and closure by looking for justice for themselves and others. It astounded me to see the Daily Mail printing such an irrelevant and petty and purely vindictive headline. I am sure many other people, even those who pay for this deteriorating newspaper, were aware of what a silly headline it was.
Whatever the Mail have against Mr Watson, wouldn't it be better if they sat down with him man to man and talked it out, instead of headlining their petty grievances and sidelining genuine news?
What puzzles me more is why papers like the Sun think they have any moral ground at all in this, they print pornographic pictures that objectify women, and they think they can comment on abuse cases?! Unbelievable! it's a bit like them printing propaganda about a 'poor little tot' in their migrant propaganda, what if that 'tot' whatever 'tot' means, grows up and comes to the UK and starts reading the sun? He then becomes a pervert who thinks he should have free access to women's bodies without an commitment and feels he can treat women how he likes?
BBC Panorama recently ran a blatant and open attack on victims with efforts along the same lines as the Murdoch newspapers, to rubbish victims and protect wrongdoers in power.
Why is no authority looking at the cost of this to victims/survivors? Has nothing changed since the days when children were moved from place to place, abused, abused again with the abusers answerable to no-one? It happened, it was real and I witnessed it.
So please could the press smarten up their act, start researching and understanding better the subject which they keep callously mis-reporting? Remember, you aren't just affecting victims/survivors of institutional care in the UK when you throw these scandal headlines and cover-ups around, you affect any victim/survivor who sees what you write and suffers trauma and despair.
Institutional and systemic abuse is too well evidenced for your make generalized headlines rubbishing it to those who aren't well informed, so please think of the people you are re-abusing and give them a break.
Sincerely,
JJ
