'RP media reports better on child trafficking issues'

BAGUIO CITY , Philippines  – Filipino journalists practice better journalism ethics on reporting cases of child trafficking compared to their counterparts in Southeast Asia, according to a study by non-government organization Asia Against Child Trafficking (Asia ACT).

On Sunday, the world celebrated International Day Against Trafficking. 

Asia ACT said Philippine newspapers reported incidences of child trafficking better than dailies in Burma, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

Asia ACT information officer Maggie Jacinto said the organization analyzed news articles from the top three newspapers in the Philippines and the six Southeast Asian countries.

Philippine newspapers used in the study were The Philippine STAR, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Manila Bulletin.

The analysis was based on the ethical principles followed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and Terre des Homes International Federation.

The children’s organizations promote respect for the privacy of child trafficking by withholding their names in news reports and not publishing their photos to protect their identity.

Asia ACT collected 20 articles from 2007 issues of the newspapers and analyzed the content for ethical practices.

It concluded that Filipino journalists observe better confidentiality standards in reporting incidences of child trafficking.

In the Indonesian and Malaysian newspapers studied, the victims were sometimes identified.

Jacinto said Philippine press practices positive coverage, which prevents stigmatization of the victims.

She said, however, that because of the limitations of the study, Philippine tabloid newspapers, which are often less sensitive to the privacy of victims, were not studied.