The Commission on Domestic Violence has issued a set of guidelines for journalists reporting on gender-based violence, in an attempt to raise standards and awareness on the matter.

The 17 guidelines urge journalists to be unambiguous when describing such violence and to ensure their reporting does not put any blame on the victims.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday morning, Equality Minister Helena Dalli said that when investigating, journalists needed to shift the way they reported by looking at the “underbelly” of gender-based violence.

“We need journalists to go in with this frame of mind when reporting to fill this gap,” the minister said, referring to the case of disgraced American director Harvey Weinstein who has in recent months been accused of assaulting several actresses.

With the 17 guidelines in hand, the Commission hopes that journalists will be able to not only better report on domestic violence but also to address issues that society might be uncomfortable discussing.

READ: Domestic violence to be investigated even if victim withdraws report

Commission member Joe Gerada, who also addressed the press conference, argued that it was time that “a spade is called a spade” and journalists should not try to avoid using terminology such as “family violence” and “domestic murder”.

The Commission is also urging those in the media to “know the law” while also seeking comments from experts when working on stories.

Almost 1,300 reports of domestic violence were filed with police last year, with 333 of those alleging violence against men and 72 concerning violence against minors. 

The full document with all 17 tips will be available on www.domesticviolence.gov.mt