Research conducted by Professor Chris Goddard and Bernadette Saunders from the National Research Centre for the Prevention of Child Abuse at Monash University has found that media reporting of child abuse in some cases minimises the severity and extent of children's experiences in order to lessen the impact of the story on the reader.

In what they term 'gender slippage', Goddard and Saunders found that children are objectified in language even when the child's gender is previously identified in the media story. In a widespread practice, both girls and boys are called 'it'. They argue that the use of 'it' depersonalises the child and in effect perpetuates the very strategies used by abusers to rationalise their crimes against children.

Goddard and Saunders write:

"...Society has long denied the painful experiences of children.An object, by definition, is not expected to speak or act. The child, and his or her experiences, become removed from the all important context. Naming a child as "it" may help us deny or reduce the child's experiences and thus contributes to what amounts to the "textual abuse" of children...(p. 27, Goddard and Saunders, 2001)".

The Australian Childhood Foundation supports careful and attentive media reporting in relation to children in cases of child abuse and neglect. The Australian Childhood Foundation recommends the following guidelines for journalists in reporting on and about children, child abuse and child protection:

• A child should be referred to as 'he' or 'she', even in cases where the gender of the child is unknown;
• Crimes against children should be reported using accurate terminology which does not minimise the experiences of children. For examples, reporters should not use phrases such as 'relationships' or 'affairs' to describe sexual assault and rape.
• Editors and sub-editors, in particular, should give careful consideration of the implications for children of the phrases they use.

About the authors:

Associate Professor Chris Goddard is the Director of the Child Abuse and Family Violence Research Unit, Monash University. He can be contacted by email on Chris.Goddard@med.monash.edu.au

Bernadette Saunders is a Lecturer at the Department of Social Work, Monash University. She can be contacted by email on Bernadette.Saunders@med.monash.edu.au

The results of the research conducted by Goddard and Saunders can be found in the following references:

Goddard, C and Saunders, B. (2001). Journalists as agents and language as instrument of social control. A child protection case study. Children Australia, 26, 26-30.

Goddard, C. And Saunders, B. (2001). Child abuse and the media. National Child Protection Clearinghouse Issues Paper, Number 14,Australian Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne