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Rape centre slams “appalling” Nine News story

The NSW Rape Crisis Centre slams Nine's reporting of an alleged sexual assault, for including the backgound of the father of the victim.

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ninesydney1Nine News has been criticised by the New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre for airing the criminal background of the father of a 17 year old girl at the centre of an alleged sexual assault case involving a Rugby League footballer.

Police are investigating an allegation of sexual assault on a 17-year-old girl. In its reporting of the story, Nine News Sydney last night included ‘exclusive’ details about the background the girl’s father.

New South Wales Rape Crisis Centre manager Karen Willis told the ABC, “I think this is just the most appalling move I’ve seen in an incredibly long time. What this has to do with the facts of the matter is beyond me. This whole idea that you can put down a complaint of sexual assault by working to discredit her, members of her family, or anyone else as a way of saying this case is an unreliable witness is just appalling.

“This sends a terrible message to people across the board who may’ve experienced sexual assault. It says that if you make a complaint to police you can expect to have your family investigated; you can expect to be demeaned and humiliated in the media.”

Rival news director Chris Willis from Seven News said, “It was one of those stories that we were being told, ‘off the record you guys better have a look at the history of the father, because there’s something questionable about his history’.

“We actually did have a look. What went through my mind was A- what’s it got to do with the story, which is about an assault on a young… or on a girl. And secondly, what is the motive of the people who are asking us to have a look at it to put it on the record?”

Nine did not return calls from the ABC.

Source: ABC

13 Responses

  2. Nine are an absolute disgrace. They are deliberately trying to discredit a witness in a criminal case (the alleged victim’s father), because they have a vested interested in seeing the alleged attacker aquitted (NRL is on nine, the accused is a star player).

  3. jase maybe you should also do some study on the laws of evidence particularly in rape cases, the family members of the girl are completely irrelevant to the rape allegations. if your father was a criminal would you like to be judged by that for the rest of your life? what her father does or does not do has no relation to what she does or does not do, they are two independant and separate people. just because a girls father does something like that does that automatically mean the girl lives in some kind of bubble where it is impossible for her to be raped. these things can happen to anyone and nothing but the facts of what happened in that incident is relevant. i agree 100% with the crisis centre comments.

  5. richtodb even if its not a textbock case of being unethical most people would probably agree that it is wrong dig up dirt on a rape victims family that has nothing to do with the case. im also interested in who sent these court documents to the media.

  6. i though the same thing when i saw the story, journalists have to be careful about the impression their giving and what their implying, i am also studying journalism and this is a perfect case of being unethical

  7. Not sure if this is the same thing that Media Watch were talking about. Either way, a disgusting lapse in ethics.

  8. RichoTB I’m studying Journalism at Uni too – Unethical, well not really in my opinion, and in the opinion of many theorists. Media outlets report on news which they believe their audiences will be interested in, so obviously Nine, and Nine News’ director believed reporting on the father’s criminal background was relevant to the case.

    Rather than bickering, that is my view and enough has been said on my part on this issue, I believe this report wasn’t unethical, nor was it out of touch, or irrelevant, and many theorists support my arguement.

    P.S. I am not a fanboy of any network, as no network is above board, sadly not even the ABC.

  10. The word “pressure” should be “precious” in that post, I wish there was an edit button again

  12. Channel Nine are disgusting, I’m studying journalism at uni and this kind of crap is not fair at all, its unethical, unsavoury and just plain out of line. They probably think the idea of a footballer sexually assaulting a minor is entertaining or possibly bad press for their pressure FTA sport. Then again, coming from the smut channel this kind of behaviour is to be expected, I wonder if they’ll cash in on this moment by including it in this week’s Adults 20 to 01.

  13. Nine, NRL, million dollar broadcasrt – you can join the dotted line on this one. BTW – the other commercial networks are no angels either

    NRL, along with Nine, are filthy about their 2009 season launch campaign being derailed in such spectacular manner

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