Adjudication No. 1434  (adjudicated July 2009)

The Press Council has dismissed a complaint against The Advertiser, Adelaide, that it inappropriately published on June 3 the names of victims of an assault without regard for their sensitivities, and exacerbating both the trauma of the attack and risks to their personal safety.

The assault occurred on school grounds, where three juveniles allegedly punched and knocked to the ground a teacher and a groundsman, inflicting cuts, bruises and bite marks. The complainant, who is the son of the teacher who suffered the assault, said that the publication of his father's name exacerbated the shock and trauma of the attack, and compromised his personal security by potentially facilitating the retaliatory attacks that the assailants had promised. He said that the newspaper showed a callous disregard for the victims' emotional and physical injuries.

The newspaper said that, given that the offenders had been arrested and charged, it did not believe it should censor the victims' names when they will be publicly available once the court case is heard. The newspaper also said that the reports were fair, accurate and balanced accounts of a matter in the public interest.

Given that the article arose from a matter of public interest and that the names are a matter of public record, the Council can see no breach of its principles.

[ return to top ]

Documents with the icon require the Acrobat Reader, a Free Utility from Adobe. Click here for more information.