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