RTÜK Announces ‘Child-Friendly Broadcasting Guidelines’

Underlining that they are sensitive about abuse against children, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) met with experts. awareness of child protection announced their intention to increase RTÜK, this guide prepared; He stated that it is aimed to contribute to the creation of a media environment that can be described as child-friendly, sensitive to children’s rights and taking care of the well-being of the child.

Expressing that children’s rights are a multifaceted field, the authorities said, a child-friendly media environment He stated that experts from different disciplines came together in order to create a national and international media and journalism principles.

What are child-friendly publishing guidelines?

“Child-Friendly Broadcasting Guidelines” were created with the contributions of academics, professional associations and media representatives who took part in the child-friendly broadcasting workshop held by RTÜK in the past few days. The guide, which is based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey, child abuse or violations of children’s rights designed to prevent it.

According to the guide, which will be shared with the public in the near future, some articles that stand out among the principles that RTÜK-approved broadcasts must comply with have been published.

According to the guide, for a content to comply with child-friendly publishing principles;

• It should not be forgotten that the presentation of news and programs containing content about neglect and abuse against children will negatively affect the cognitive and emotional development of children, and the content should be prepared with this sensitivity in mind,
• It should not be forgotten that long-term and intensive publications on child abuse and neglect can create depersonalization and normalization,
• All kinds of physical, psychological, etc. that will be created by the abuse event. Preferring a language that conveys the seriousness of the event by referring to the effects,
• Obtaining the opinions of experts in the field such as child development specialists, social workers, psychologists, psychological counselors or lawyers, trying to increase the awareness of the target audience, and discussing what preventive-protective measures can be, in news content about neglect and abuse against children,
• Bringing children to the agenda not only with news of neglect and abuse, but also with their achievements in fields such as education, art, culture and sports, in media content,
• Not implying that abused children are devastated, stating that being abused is not a lifelong label,
• Within the scope of the protection of personal data, children’s rights are not violated in the news and the events in the daytime programs,
• Sensational, striking images and sounds are not included, the events are presented without turning them into tabloids,
• Increasing the perception of deterrence by mentioning the examples of punishment given in return for abuse crimes and by sharing the result of the penal sanction with the public, taking into account the principle of intellectual pursuit,
• Considering the bodily speech rights of children, especially babies and children, even as an element of sympathy, their bodies should not be exposed and children should not be represented as adults.