‘Don’t call predators pedophiles’ Australia’s ABC tells reporters in leaked email
The Australian 6 March 2021
Family First Comment: Shocking – and stupid.
“ABC reporters in Tasmania have been told to “avoid” referring to child sex abusers as pedophiles, to avoid marginalising people with pedophilia… Beyond Abuse spokesman Steve Fisher campaigned for 20 years to have the rape and sexual abuse of children called out for what they were, rather than euphemised by terms such “maintaining a sexual relationship” with a minor.”
The latest stupidness comes from Tasmania. According to The Australian:
“ABC reporters in Tasmania have been told to “avoid” referring to child sex abusers as pedophiles, to avoid marginalising people with pedophilia. An email sent to all news staff this week advises against the use of the term “pedophile”, even to describe those who have serially abused children over many years…. “We should avoid it, unless we know he had a clinical diagnosis of paedophilia and instead use serial sexual offender / predator, or a sexual abuser of children and young people,”
“SASS says another consideration is from their point of view, there are a lot of paedophiles / people with paedophilia who do not act on those impulses, especially if they reach out for and receive professional psychological help … describing (perhaps technically inaccurately) Griffin as a paedophile could discourage those people from seeking help, making it more likely that they go on to abuse children.”
“….The email has concerned and angered some ABC staff, who believed the views of a single support service manager were put before tight, accurate reporting. As well as concern at pandering to pedophiles, some were unhappy at having to use a convoluted phrase of eight words — “a sexual abuser of children and young people” — rather than one….”
Child abuse survivors were also concerned. Beyond Abuse spokesman Steve Fisher said dropping the term “pedophile” risked confusing the public. “If you start changing language that has been used in the media for years there is a risk that society may be confused,” Mr Fisher said. He campaigned for 20 years to have the rape and sexual abuse of children called out for what they were, rather than euphemised by terms such “maintaining a sexual relationship” with a minor.”
Manipulating the language and the narrative to somehow make paedophilia less horrific or given less stigma.
Disturbing.
READ MORE: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/dont-call-paedophiles-paedophiles-abc-tells-reporters-in-leaked-email/news-story/8ccdb9c003e79f9d3fa6fb9a567aa3a4
