This article was originally written in Arabic and has been translated into English with the assistance of AI tools and edited to ensure clarity and accuracy.
Do ethical and professional standards allow for interviewing survivors while they are in a state of trauma? How should a journalist approach victims, away from sensationalism and the pursuit of exclusivity at the expense of their dignity and right to remain silent?
Many of you may have seen the video interview with a Syrian detainee who had just emerged from a cell in Sednaya Prison. The individual, in a state of shock, struggled to speak, stammering before the camera, possibly unaware for a long time of what had been happening outside their cell. Stunned, they stood before a journalist holding a microphone and a camera focused on their face, bombarded with questions while still reeling from their ordeal.
This video is not the only one documenting such scenes. Social media has been inundated with images and interviews of detainees after their release from the prisons of the ousted Syrian regime. These interviews exposed the harsh realities of incarceration and captured the joy of liberation.
However, the situation was not as rosy as it first appeared. It often reflected harshness, prompting anger and criticism from journalists, victims' families, and activists over the unprofessional and inhumane way many of these interviews were conducted. Among the critics was Fadwa Mahmoud, an activist, politician, and co-founder of Families for Freedom, who issued warnings in a video against the careless dissemination of images and documents that could cause further pain to detainees and their families.
The Ethical Dilemma in Survivor Interviews
In many cases, these interviews were driven by a desire to showcase the crimes of the ousted Syrian regime. However, forced detention is itself a violation of human rights, and it is unjustifiable to provide evidence of the regime's crimes at the expense of the dignity and humanity of detainees and their families.
Some media outlets went as far as publishing unblurred images of corpses and highlighting torture methods used in the regime’s prisons.
In response, the Syrian Female Journalists Network (SFJN) released a guide titled "Media Interviews with Survivors of Detention: A Practical Guide," offering steps and recommendations for conducting professional interviews that safeguard the dignity and privacy of survivors while addressing their psychological and physical vulnerabilities.
Consent Is Crucial
Widely accepted media ethics emphasise respecting the privacy of interviewees and avoiding any form of harm, especially in sensitive cases like those of detainees. The guide underscores the importance of obtaining the informed and explicit consent of the detainee or their family before proceeding with interviews.
It also criticises the haste and randomness that characterised many interviews, where journalists failed to obtain what the guide refers to as "informed consent," exploiting the heightened emotions of the moment.
The guide stresses the humanisation of interviews, focusing on the detainee’s broader human experience rather than sensationalism. It advises against sharing footage captured in inappropriate psychological or physical conditions, emphasising the importance of minimising its spread.
Professional Standards for Survivor Interviews
Rola Othman, a journalist and contributor to the guide, highlights the need for journalists and media workers to adhere to professional and ethical standards during this sensitive transitional phase in Syria. This includes addressing the issue of detention with humanity and avoiding further harm to survivors and their families.
The guide also recommends that journalists clearly warn audiences of graphic or distressing content at the start of any media presentation, whether visual, audio, or written.
Prioritising Mental Health
Nada Al-Jundi, protection program coordinator at SFJN and co-author of the guide, emphasised the difficult psychological and physical state of many survivors. She criticised interviews that lacked sensitivity toward their conditions and included inappropriate and harmful questions.
Al-Jundi explained that journalists bear the responsibility of assessing the psychological and physical state of the survivor before conducting an interview. If the detainee declines or is unable to participate, the journalist must respect their decision and avoid proceeding. This extends to interviewing detainees’ families as well.
These principles also apply to subsequent interviews, regardless of how much time has passed since the detainee’s release, ensuring respect for their psychological and human conditions.
Guidelines for Ethical Media Practices
The guide emphasises the need for journalists to familiarise themselves with basic psychological support by consulting professionals and credible resources. This knowledge helps them handle survivors’ cases sensitively. Key recommendations include:
- Providing survivors with information about available support services, such as psychological, medical, and social assistance, and helping them access these services.
- Building trust with survivors by creating a comfortable interview environment, allowing them to request breaks or end the interview if needed.
- Avoid excessive displays of pity and instead express understanding and empathy. Journalists must also be cautious about physical contact, as survivors may have endured traumatic experiences.
A Survivor Interview should not be Considered a Scoop
Interviewing survivors is neither a scoop nor a trending topic. The issue of detainees has been critical for years and is one of the most sensitive and complex matters. The guide highlights the importance of thorough preparation and understanding of the various social contexts, particularly for female survivors, many of whom face social stigmatisation after their release.
Journalists have an ethical responsibility to assess the potential risks to detainees and their families, including stigma, persecution, or threats. This necessitates careful and informed planning before conducting any interview.
The guide also warns against asking direct or leading questions about sexual assaults in detention. Survivors should only discuss such matters voluntarily. Female survivors, in particular, should not be subjected to questions that may lead to social ostracisation or danger.
Recommendations for ethical interviews include:
- Avoid interviews with detainees’ children.
- Refrain from asking mothers about the paternity of their children.
- Respect the sensitivity of their experiences and not pressuring them for details about their children’s lives or their conditions in detention.
Is It Necessary to Detail Torture?
One of the most disturbing moments in these interviews has been journalists pressing survivors for details about the torture they endured. Such questions can retraumatize survivors, their families, and audiences.
The guide strongly advises against asking survivors for such details, emphasising that interviews should not devolve into sensationalism or exploitative curiosity. It also discourages survivors from naming other detainees or revealing their fates, which could traumatise other families. Determining detainees’ fates should be left to specialised organisations.
Finally, the guide encourages open-ended questions that allow survivors to share their stories on their terms. It urges journalists to avoid reducing detainees’ identities to their experiences of detention and instead highlight their broader, multifaceted human experiences.
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