“The print media again contained horrific descriptions of the incident quoting “findings by the relevant authorities”. The public has for days been peppered by the tiniest details of the abuse of a minor by his father without talking into consideration how the child might feel reading about his misfortune in the headlines. Are the media helping the child or is their objective to grab people’s attention and boost sales? This type of reporting is just an attempt to horrify the public by the shocking description of the crime without going into the veracity of the allegations, as well as an example of sensationalism which pays no heed to the victim even when that victim is a child. Also, if the media’s claim that they got the information from the “authorities” is to believed, this begs the question who bears the responsibility for their publication as it only hurts the victim further and cannot possibly assist in the court proceedings.

The media of course play an important role in the fight against violence, especially against cases such as the monstrous sexual abuse of one’s own child. However the objective of a media campaign should be to protect the victims. That is why I appeal to the media to find a more appropriate way to report on this type of case. On the other hand it is very important that the school, students, teachers and psychologists reacted appropriately when they came to suspect sexual abuse and prevented an even bigger tragedy.”