• Taglines
• Current data and research from reputable sources including the Australian Bureau of Statistics – Personal Safety Survey and ANROWS.
• Having an understanding the complex nature of violence crimes, and that each victim-survivors experience and healing will be different.
• Acknowledging that there is no excuse for abuse or violent behaviour.
• Research shows that certain groups of people are more likely to experience abuse or violence than others due to complex socio-political reasons and structural inequality. Groups include First Nations people, LGBTQ+ people, people with a disability, people from culturally and linguistic diverse backgrounds, people in rural and remote Australia, people from socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, young women, and older people. It It’s important we keep shining a light on them.

• VictimConnect is written as one word like in our logo with the first and seventh letters capitalised.
• If you are going to use our logo in your story, please use our current one.
• Use a comprehensive tagline when reporting on violent crimes in Queensland: “If you have been impacted by a violent crime in Queensland and you are wanting support, please call VictimConnect on 1300 318 940.”
• About our Service: VictimConnect is a 24/7 service that supports people who have been impacted by a violent crime in Queensland. VictimConnect has three services that work together and can be accessed when, and if you need them. They are Response and Connection, Case Management, and Counselling.

Media reporting plays a pivotal role in raising awareness and shaping community attitudes around important issues such as this. Therefore, it is critical that reports on violent crimes and DFSV is done in a clear, accurate and informative manner. We have shared our top key tips to ensure that this is achieved for your next article.

We know that violent crimes are 100% preventable, because using violence is always a choice. Therefore, when reporting on this it is important to avoid the use of terminology like “unsolvable” or an “inevitable behaviour”, and instead focus on how violent crimes can be prevented in communities.   

When reporting on interpersonal violence, such as sexual or domestic and family violence terms violence and/or abuse should remain as the descriptions. There is never an excuse for abuse and statements such as “a lovers quarrel” or “leaking nudes” and other minimising language or victim-blaming terminology should be avoided.

Specialists in this area of work like ours play major role in supporting media outlets reporting on these topics if you need a comment or advice about a story. We know that this area of work is complex, and we also understand the important role media plays on informing the public on issues such as this.