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Human Rights Advocacy
Human Rights Advocacy
Viewer Discretion vs. Victim's Right: Human Rights Snapshots and Videos
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Many people have weighed in on the topic of my research that has to do with protecting the identity and dignity of human rights victims in documentation - videos and still images used either in the news or in user-generated platforms like YouTube and other video sharing websites.

So far, most people have spoken from the spectator's point of view.


*The Spectator*

The spectator or the viewer believes that it is in his or her discretion to view or not to view. Point taken. Every person reserves the right to know what's contained in a human rights documentation for a host of several reasons - education, information, curiosity, interest, and what have you.


*The Journalist*

Some of the journalists I've spoken to contend that it is their responsibility to inform the public. As long as the victim shown on the video consents to the publicity, then it is ethical. Yes, very reasonable, indeed.


*The Victim*

I haven't had the opportunity to speak to actual human rights victims whose ordeal was captured on camera. There are scores of videos and still images of this nature on video sharing websites like YouTube. Where I'm coming from right now, considering the victim's point of view, is that victims would naturally not have their ordeal seen by millions of people for also several reasons: humiliation, dignity, privacy, protection and security against further harm and retaliation especially when the victims could easily be identified.


*The Delicate Balance*

I'm talking about human rights videos depicting rape, slavery, torture, child abuse, and persecution, and a lot more. From the spectator's view, watching the videos may bring a certain degree of satisfaction or answer to their reasons for viewing. Likeweise, journalists would feel obligated to report on such violations for the public's information.

Let's look at cases where mainstream media made use footages of interviews with victims. And to this I direct you to the Safety & Security chapter of Witness.org's Video for Change by Katerina Cizek http://www.witness.org/images/stories/pdf/VideoforChange_SafetyandSecurity_Titled.pdf

Cizek presented cases in Tibet in the 80s and 90s under China's rule. Apparently some journalists interviewed Tibetans for a feature, but the said journalists fell short of protecting the victims' identities. What happened then was the Chinese government retaliated as soon as they've identified the interviewees...the ensuing accounts of torture and further harm were very disturbing.

So here I am, questioning the same practice that is now undertaken by the public as well on YouTube, LiveLeak, and others.

What measures have we taken to protect the victims when we uploaded videos of rape, torture, and child abuse?

Late last year, the Myanmar junta raided Yangon to further intimidate the people there (here: http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=3684982). Disturbing because they announced: "We have photographs! We are going to make arrests!" Similarly, a blogger reported that the junta has ordered Internet monitoring especially "screen captures". I can only imagine what the junta could do once they obtain user-gernerated videos of the conflict in the country.

A CNN reporter who was resourceful enough to stay in Myanmar to gather news deemed it necessary to not show his face on camera nor say his name on TV for fear of retaliation from the government. But ironically, he interviewed people in Burma...the journalist stated names and even locations of the interviewees.

In this issue of minimizing harm, many factors come into play. My stand though is that, the victim's right to safety and privacy should prevail over freedom of expression.

June 4, 2008 | 6:57 AM Comments  0 comments

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