Violence
Our audiences, particularly children, can be upset by the portrayal of both real and fictional violence and so we should normally clearly label violent content.
When real life violence, or its aftermath, is shown on television or reported on radio and online we need to strike a balance between the demands of accuracy and the dangers of desensitisation or unjustified distress.
Our editorial judgements about violence need to consider a number of factors which, in combination, can increase the impact of violence:
- violence that is true to life and may also reflect personal experience, for example, domestic violence, pub brawls, football hooliganism, road rage, mugging.
- violence in places normally regarded as safe such as the family home, hospitals and schools.
- unusual or sadistic methods of inflicting pain, injury or death.
- incidents where women and children are the victims.
- violence without showing the effect on the victim or the consequences for the perpetrator.
- sexual violence.
- verbal aggression, particularly the use of sexual swearwords.
- suicide, attempted suicide or self harm.
- broadcast reactions of others to violence, especially those of children.
- post-production techniques such as atmospheric music, slow motion, graphic close ups and sound effects.
We should take care to ensure that individual programmes, or programmes taken together across the schedule, avoid including material that condones or glamorises violence, dangerous or seriously anti-social behaviour and is likely to encourage others to copy such behaviour unless clearly editorially justified.
Violence and the protection of children
We must ensure that verbal or physical violence that is easily imitable by children in a manner that is harmful or dangerous is not featured in programmes made primarily for children unless there it is a strong editorial justification.
We should also ensure that material containing gratuitous violence, whether verbal or physical, is not broadcast in pre-Watershed programmes or when children are particularly likely to be in our radio audience or in online content likely to appeal to a high proportion of children. Any portrayal of verbal or physical violence, or its after-effects, must be editorially justified.
Violence against Animals
Audiences, particularly children, can often be distressed by images or scenes which show human violence against animals. If the scenes are graphic but we know that the animal suffered no harm, then we should consider saying so in an on air or online announcement or caption.