Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Chronicle Herald Publishes Child Porn Victim's Name Despite Court Ban

View image on Twitter
Zi-Ann Lum | HuffPost
A Nova Scotia newspaper has defied a judge’s publication ban over a “prominent child pornography case” by publishing the victim’s name – Rehtaeh Parsons.

The Chronicle Herald published a story Monday about a second man who entered a guilty plea to one count of child pornography in the high-profile case.

“We’ve decided to publish the name of the victim in this story, despite a court-ordered ban,” an editor's note explains. “We believe its in the public interest in this unique case, given the widespread recognition of Rehtaeh Parsons’ name, and given the good that can come, and has already come, from free public debate over sexual consent and the other elements of her story.”

Parsons’ father Glen Canning praised the publication’s decision to publicize his daughter’s name.

American press noticed the ban across Canadian media. Parsons’ mother Leah told BuzzFeed it was as if her daughter is “being silenced for the second time.” Slate also pointed out the muzzle, saying “Rehtaeh Parsons was the most famous victim in Canada. Now, journalists can’t even say her name.”

No comments:

Post a Comment