Everyday Victim Blaming

challenging institutional disbelief around domestic & sexual violence and abuse

Media misrepresentations of sexual violence: The BBC

The BBC is a frequent offender in the category: media misrepresentations of sexual violence. They seem incapable of using the correct terms for child sexual violence and child rape by constantly referring to 'sex acts'.

Today's offensive article is: Teachers Daniel Cochrane and Andrew Green banned for sex acts with girl. Cochrane and Green were not banned from teaching for life for having "sexual relationships" or engaging in "sex acts". They were banned from teaching for sexually assaulted a teenage girl.

Granted the ban comes from the "National College for Teaching and Leadership conduct panel (who) found them guilty of professional misconduct." The CPS chose not to prosecute Green in 2012 and Cochrane was cleared of  "inciting a child to engage in a sexual activity at Durham Crown Court in January 2013". Regardless of the lack of criminal charges, 15 year old girls cannot legally consent to a sexual relationship with an adult. It is child sexual assault and must be referred to as such.

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One thought on “Media misrepresentations of sexual violence: The BBC

  • Bronwen Davies says:

    The Guardian managed to refer to Jimmy Savile as a “sex pest”, a term I had thought no longer had any validity at all (it was used when I was young as a way of minimising the seriousness of sexual assaults and sexual harassment by men)