Last updated June 18, 2013 © Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape 2013. All rights reserved.

Victim Privacy—Courtroom/Media/Social Media

— POSITION STATEMENT—
PENNSYLVANIA COALITION AGAINST RAPE
125 North Enola Drive • Enola, PA 17025
717-728-9740 • 800-692-7445 • TTY 877-585-1091 • pcar.org
The mission of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape is to work to eliminate all forms of sexual
violence and to advocate for the rights and needs of victims of sexual assault.
Position:
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape is opposed to
public televising of courtroom trials through all forms
of media/social media.
Rationale:
When a person is raped they experience severe
physical and emotional traumas from both the assault
and the events that follow. The attack itself is a brutal
and terrifying personal violation that can have a long
term if not permanent impact on the victim’s life.
The victim also suffers the extremely difficult ordeal
of disclosing the nature and specifics of the crime to
law enforcement officers. If the assailant is caught,
the victim will likely be asked to testify in a public
trial about the crime committed against them, again
subjecting the person to emotional pain.
Throughout this period the victim is trying to regain
a sense of control and autonomy in their daily living
situation. Compounding these and other difficulties,
some victims are being further victimized by having
their identities widely disseminated by public televising
of courtroom trials/media/social media.
Background:
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape may
issue statements regarding public policy affecting
sexual violence victims and rape crisis centers. All
position statements adopted by the Pennsylvania
Coalition Against Rape will be viewed as the official
position statement, the center, when publicly or
privately voicing opposition to the statement, will do
so in the capacity of an independent program and in
no way as a member of the Pennsylvania Coalition
Against Rape.
Additional Resources:
O’Hara, S. (2012). Monsters, playboys, virgins and
whores: Rape myths in the news media’s coverage of
sexual violence. Language and Literature, 21, 247-259.
doi:10.1177/0963947012444217