Journalism Workshop on Covering Violence Against Native Women and Children
A journalism workshop on “Covering Violence Against Native Women and Children” was attended by over 45 journalists,
media professionals, and student journalists on Thursday, September 7, 2017, at the Excellence in Journalism Conference in Anaheim, CA. This workshop was co-sponsored by the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) in collaboration with StrongHearts Native Helpline (SHNH) and Mary Hudetz, a criminal justice reporter for Associated Press.
Princella RedCorn (NIWRC), Mallory Black (SHNH), and Mary Hudetz shared their experiences and expertise with workshop participants. “It is important to include the foundational understanding national experts agree upon—that power and control is at the root of domestic violence and sexual assault,” said Princella RedCorn, Communications Officer, NIWRC. Presenters also shared best practices with journalists on defining the type of violence or abuse that occurred. “If it is domestic violence then define what domestic violence is in the article, or if it’s sexual assault then define sexual assault in the article,” said RedCorn.
Presenters also shared the importance of understanding and including the historical context of violence against Native communities, national studies and statistics to use, jurisdictional issues, the Violence Against Women Act, Supreme Court cases that involved domestic violence, issues concerning missing and murdered Native women and girls, survivor confidentiality and safety when interviewing, survivor resources including StrongHearts Native Helpline, and possible story ideas and pitches.
Along with providing resources to journalists, the presenters reminded them of the power of shining a light on these issues, such as in the case of missing and murdered child Ashlynne Mike and the Navajo Nation instituting an Amber Alert for the reservation. Society of Professional Journalism student news reporter Casey Smith created infographics based on information presented in the workshop.
The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center and StrongHearts Native Helpline co-sponsored this session.
The 2017 Excellence in Journalism Conference was hosted by the Radio Television Digital News Association, Society of Professional Journalists, and National Association of Hispanic Journalists, in cooperation with the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA). The three-day conference included networking and recruitment opportunities for journalists, deep-dive training workshops, video and audio critiques, breakout sessions, and award ceremonies. To view the NAJA’s social media activity during the conference use @najournalists and #EIJ17 on Instagram and Twitter. To view the NAJA student newsroom activities visit www.naja.com/students/najf.
“NIWRC participated in the 2016 conference as well. As the National Resource Center to Enhance Safety for Native Women and their Children we understand the important role of the media in educating the public about domestic violence. Journalists are in a unique position to inform the public about such crimes, or, as we see too often, reinforce stereotypes,” said Lucy Simpson, Executive Director, NIWRC. “When reporting on a domestic violence case it is so important to stress the violence is not typically a single outburst but a pattern of on-going abuse over time.”
Explore last year’s Journalist Resource Page (http:// www.niwrc.org/resources/journalist-resources- covering-domestic-violence-against-native-women) created from the workshop “Covering Domestic Violence Against Native Women” from the 2016 Excellence in Journalism Conference. Resources include audio from the session, PowerPoint presentation, photographs, tips for reporters, links to published stories, and more!
