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In 2017, we wrote to over 20 major international photography organisations to ask about their child protection policies and provided recommendations for those that did not have any. It is hoped @MagnumPhotos has sincerely started a process of change. Will others join them? https://twitter.com/TomSeymour/status/1294309799837028353
Here's the original article. The question is, will the experience of @MagnumPhotos widen the conversation and see other organisations commit to change or will they choose to do what Magnum appeared to do 3yrs ago - ignore the problem, hoping it goes away? https://witness.worldpressphoto.org/through-a-glass-darkly-63b85db1d92c
For those that want to engage, the recommendations we made are below in this thread
. They are far from perfect and only a starting point, but there is much you can do once you have that initial commitment to change.
. They are far from perfect and only a starting point, but there is much you can do once you have that initial commitment to change.
● Establish a formal relationship with a children’s rights expert / children’s rights organisation, and/or children’s rights lawyer to provide advice on the production and use of images of vulnerable and abused children;
â—Ź Establish and make public a child protection policy, with input from child protection experts and legal advisors, in relation to images they commission and/or publish. This should incl. guidance to photographers working for the organisation and in photo competition rules;
â—Ź Establish a mechanism that would automatically refer any image(s) that depict vulnerable or abused children to a panel of experts for legal and/or ethical opinion if the image(s) is being considered for publication;
â—Ź Ensure that any mechanism that is established includes relevant expertise on the legal and ethical aspects of publishing images of vulnerable and abused children;
â—Ź Ensure that any mechanism that is established and all decisions that are taken regarding the images prioritizes the best interest of the child over other considerations;
â—Ź Where practically possible, informed consent should be given by the child and their guardian, and such consent should be recorded in a way so that it can be produced on request to those who publish the photo(s).
