News and media

The Office of the Victims’ Commissioner was established to promote the rights and needs of victims of crime.

The Office releases statements to inform the community – via the media – of the work of our office.

We acknowledge the important role media outlets play in raising awareness of the rights of victims of crime, including empowering victim-survivors of crime who choose to tell their stories in their own words.

We value the contribution of victim-survivors in sharing their experiences.

If you are a media outlet covering an issue which involves a victim, we respectfully ask that you be mindful of the potential impacts that your media coverage and actions can have on victim-survivors of crime, or family members and friends of deceased victims of crime.

Some events can be especially difficult for victim-survivors of crime, or family members and friends of deceased victims including:

hearings, trials and sentencing
significant dates like birthdays or anniversaries.

We ask media outlets to be considered and respectful if:

requesting comment or interviews
providing or using information about offenders
identifying people
taking photos or videos.

We ask media outlets to:

carefully consider the language used in reporting to avoid potentially causing further distress
avoid perpetuating myths or stereotypes around victims, offenders and crimes.

Resources

The Department of Justice and Attorney-General has produced resources for media outlets:

the Sexual Violence Media Guide provides advice for trauma-informed reporting on sexual violence
the Domestic and Family Violence Media Guide assists with responsible and evidence-based reporting of domestic and family violence incidents.