Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson


by Newswire    
11:34 am - March 5th 2012

Tweet       Share on Tumblr

A charity calling for accuracy, dignity and respect for transgender and intersex people in the British media has made a second submission to the Leveson Inquiry into press standards and regulation.

Trans Media Watch (TMW) addressed the Leveson Inquiry on February 8th. Since then, a surge of stories featuring trans people have appeared in the national press.

Most of these have focused on two particular cases:
* A transgender man who became pregnant and gave birth to a child
* A five year old who has was born male, but who is now accepted by her family as female

Helen Belcher, Treasurer of TMW, says that recent coverage raises issues of child protection:

With both stories, there are significant concerns over misrepresentation and, with both, there are serious concerns over the press affecting the safety of children.
…
We are particularly concerned about the inaccuracies and discrimination that appear in the Mail’s article of 25 February, and have taken these concerns to the Press Complaints Commission.

TMW say this isn’t just about transgender people, but about bad journalism.

The tabloids are driving an atmosphere of fear by parading a vulnerable minority group as freaks and deliberately misrepresenting the realities of our lives.

TMW has identified that, between early November and early February, the average number of articles about trans issues in the national press was less than one per day.

In the fortnight following TMW’s appearance at Leveson, 34 such articles were published. 14 of those were published by the Daily Mail and its offshoots.

Trans Media Watch is a charity which works with the media to ensure transgender and intersex people are treated with accuracy, dignity and respect.

A representative from the charity addressed the Leveson inquiry in early February.

   Tweet   Share on Tumblr   submit to reddit  


About the author

· Other posts by


Story Filed Under: News


Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.


Reader comments


1. Chaise Guevara

Do we know what, specifically, they’re objecting to in these articles?

I’m a bit wary because we had an article on LC accusing the Sun of hounding the pregnant man that, on closer inspection, turned out to be untrue / grossly exaggerated (YMMV). It wouldn’t exactly surprise me if these papers had written irresponsible and inaccurate articles on these subjects, but some examples would be nice.

2. So Much For Subtlety

* A five year old who has was born male, but who is now accepted by her family as female

Sorry but how precisely should this story be reported except as a freak show? What would responsible reporting of any five year old who has been encouraged to articulate thoughts that are unlikely to ever actually occur to a five year old look like?

3. Veronica

I wish you all the luck with your orgainsation as I am sure it is needed.


Reactions: Twitter, blogs
  1. Liberal Conspiracy

    Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/cRcvzaxG

  2. chris paul

    Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/cRcvzaxG

  3. Mabel Horrocks

    Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/cRcvzaxG

  4. Jennifer Hynes

    Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/cRcvzaxG

  5. Andy S

    Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/nzPJwPUH (via @libcon)

  6. Patron Press - #P2

    #UK : Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/AxPenQjs

  7. BevR

    Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/cRcvzaxG

  8. Steve Rose

    Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson | Liberal Conspiracy http://t.co/Nthkpnmn via @libcon

  9. earthlad

    #UK : Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/AxPenQjs

  10. leftlinks

    Liberal Conspiracy – Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/KuVUAWWv

  11. Pucci D

    RT @libcon: Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/j7Q7o9PU #fb #hackgate .@rupertmurdoch

  12. Jason Brickley

    Charity reports Sun and Mail to Leveson http://t.co/xKRm4Ebz





Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.