-EDITORIAL
You may notice in this week’s edition of the Nouvelle, our court report doesn’t name the accused.
In this case, we chose not to release his name because he was convicted of assaulting his two young children with a piece of metal, and harassing his ex-spouse. In order to protect the victims, we made the decision not to publish his name.
After posting the story online, we received feedback on social media. While some agreed with the Nouvelle that it was important to protect the victims, specifically the young children, others felt it was unnecessary. This isn’t the first time a name hasn’t been released in order to shield the identity of the victim. In many cases, newspapers won’t publish an accused’s name cases of domestic violence or sexual assaults.
This is in no means to protect the offender, but instead, to protect the person who was physically or sexually assaulted.
We understand our readers feel they have a right to know who committed the offence, however, we stand behind the victims, as should you.
In cases involving domestic violence, specifically where there is no harm to the public, such as this one, it’s important to protect the victims and the families involved.
We encourage anyone with questions or concerns about this practice to contact our editor, so she can explain why it’s so important to protect those who are most vulnerable.
