Accurate Language in the Media's Reporting on Sexual Assault Cases is Critical

With the help of Legal Momentum's National Judicial Education Program, The New York Times addresses this issue.

November 21, 2011 -

The media play a critical role in the public’s understanding of sexual assault.  Language is particularly influential in defining how we talk about sexual violence and in creating or reinforcing societal attitudes on the issue. 

Reports on the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State University demonstrate the language problem.  On November 9th, The New York Times reported that a Penn State graduate student "saw Mr. Sandusky having anal sex with [a] boy."  "Having sex" connotes the child’s consent, and a young boy cannot consent to such an act.

Legal Momentum’s National Judicial Education Program (NJEP) has long advocated for the media to think critically about the language they use in describing sexual assault and this advocacy has had an impact.

The New York Times recently acknowledged the challenges reporters face when investigating sexual assault allegations.

In response to a cascade of readers’ criticism regarding the Times’ reporting on the Penn State case, Arthur Brisbane, Public Editor of the Times, devoted an editorial to the issue of language in sexual assault cases.  Mr. Brisbane detailed readers’ comments and acknowledged the problem, writing, "As the Jerry Sandusky case at Penn State University shows, reporting on allegations of sex crimes poses a challenge not only to get the story right but to deliver it in language that puts the facts in the proper light."

As he drafted this editorial, Mr. Brisbane contacted NJEP Project Attorney Claudia J. Bayliff.  Ms. Bayliff sent Mr. Brisbane one of NJEP’s new training modules, titled, "Raped" or "Seduced"? How Language Helps Shape Our Response to Sexual Violence, and they discussed the module at length. 

In his November 19th editorial, Mr. Brisbane noted NJEP’s expertise and advocacy on this issue.  He wrote:

"'We constantly talk about victims having sex with their perpetrator,' said Claudia J. Bayliff, project attorney for the National Judicial Education Program and a longtime advocate for victims of sex crimes. 'We talk about children performing oral sex on their perpetrator, which suggests a consensual act and a volitional act. We use 'fondled,' 'had sex with,' 'performed oral sex on' — all those kinds of terms.'"

Mr. Brisbane also acknowledged that the media need to think critically about the language it uses when reporting on these cases: 

"[I]t’s time that The Times and other news organizations take another look at the language they use. Victims’ advocates echo what the readers told me in their e-mails: language in news media reports — and, for that matter, in the court system itself — consistently underplays the brutality of sex crimes and misapplies terms that imply consent."

Legal Momentum applauds The New York Times for reaching out to experts and addressing this critical issue.  We hope that these suggestions will become the standard at the Times and that other media outlets follow suit.  The media’s use of accurate language in describing sexual assault cases will have a far-reaching impact on the public’s understanding of and response to sexual violence.

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Read New York Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane's editorial on the importance of accurate language.

Learn more about Legal Momentum's National Judicial Education Program.