IDENTITY DISCLOSURE OF JUVENILE VICTIMS THROUGH MEDIA: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES

Abstract

The past decades have seen the rise of media and its importance as an influential and primarily accepted mode of communication and awareness. What cannot be ignored is the inevitable competition among news platforms and an urge to deliver information apart from what is already available for public access. The extensive reporting has extended to the disclosure of the identity of the Juvenile victims of sexual offences like rape, which worsen not only the case but makes the life of victim vulnerable and worsen the already delicate situation they are in.
This paper deals with the rising concern of disclosure of identities of juvenile victims and sensationalising the issue through media. The study also focuses on the laws pertaining to the protection of identities of juvenile victims and judicial responses to the issue. Lastly, an attempt has been made to understand the opinions of newsreaders through a survey regarding the necessity to make such delicate information public.