2023.Apr.17

REPORTS

Report on the Trauma Reporting Study Group for 2022

In FY2022, the Trauma Reporting Study Group held ten sessions from the 9th to the 18th.

Two of the sessions featured guest speakers who shared their experiences as interviewees and interviewers. One guest, Ms. Jun Yamamoto, played a central role in creating the “Guidebook for Covering Sexual Violence Victimization” in 2016, which was co-created by victims and reporters. As a survivor and Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner-Japan (SANE-J), she shared the process and trigger for creating the guidebook, which is designed to benefit both interviewees and interviewers. Ms. Yamamoto, who said she was sometimes frustrated and bothered by interviewers who did not understand her trauma, remarked, “I’m tired of interviews that lack consideration, even if they’re not done with malice,” which strongly impressed us.

For the other eight sessions, the group continued reading “Trauma Reporting: A Journalist’s Guide to Covering Sensitive Stories” (2019) by Jo Healey, a British book that provides advice from veteran reporters and the people who have been interviewed after they or their family members have been involved in an incident or disaster.

In FY2022, the group read from Chapter 6, “The interview,” to Chapter 10, “The self-care.” The book presents the types of actions that can deepen the damage for interviewees and offers good practices for journalists. One particularly notable aspect was that it even provides guidance on how to finish and leave an interview, including, before leaving the interviewees, trying to talk that helps bring them back to the “here and now” to avoid leaving them in a state of pain relived. In addition, the chapter on “The follow-ups” covers later revisits and “anniversary” coverage, which allowed us to reaffirm the need to consider trauma and coverage from a long-term perspective.

The chapter on “The self-care,” written by Australian psychologist Cait McMahon, highlights that interviewer can be affected not only physically and mentally but also in an existential sense (e.g., trust in the world and God is disrupted, a sense of mission of the work is lost, etc.), and on the other hand, PTG (post-traumatic growth) may sometimes be felt. The chapter also offers concrete tips for how to deal with these effects.

The book provided concrete examples and tips, making it easier for the group to consider these issues. It also made us keenly aware that more specific guidelines are necessary in Japan as well, rather than merely suggesting “be considerate” or “don’t strain yourself.” In the discussion, as in the previous year, there was much discussion regarding “boundaries to be aware of as professionals.”

In the upcoming year, we will continue to explore potential outcomes for the study group while completing the remaining chapters.