The case of an 11-year-old Toronto girl who made headlines when she falsely claimed that a scissors-wielding stranger had cut her hijab highlights the complex ethical issues that arise when a child is thrust into the national spotlight, experts say.
Police said this week their investigation found the alleged incident didn鈥檛 happen, just days after the girl and her family gave a detailed account during a high-profile news conference.
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The allegations captured international attention and drew swift public condemnation from the prime minister and other officials 鈥� a situation that saw the girl鈥檚 name and image splashed all over the news and social media.
Many media outlets, including The Canadian Press, have since chosen not to identify the girl. Some publications outside Canada, however, continued to use her name and photo even after the allegations were dismissed as false.
While the law doesn鈥檛 automatically prevent anyone from naming an underage victim in a crime allegedly committed by an adult, there is a 鈥渟trong moral and ethical鈥� argument for protecting a child鈥檚 identity, said Emma Rhodes, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in youth criminal justice.
鈥淲e protect children so that they can go on to become successful adults and with the internet as it is, by naming her, we are potentially harming her in becoming a successful adult,鈥� she said.
It is up to the adults in the girl鈥檚 life, from her parents and police to media and observers, to put those safeguards in place, Rhodes said.
鈥淚t is our moral and ethical responsibility to let her be 11, to protect her because she鈥檚 a child.鈥�
That the girl appeared alongside her parents, police and school officials 鈥� a 鈥渧ery unusual鈥� occurrence 鈥� only muddied the waters, said Jeffrey Dvorkin, director of the journalism program at the University of Toronto鈥檚 Scarborough campus.
There is a 鈥減retty hard-and-fast鈥� rule that journalists should not interview minors without parental consent, but in this case, the fact that her parents seemed on board normalized the situation, as did the comments made by politicians, he said.
Competition and pressure within the news industry also likely fuelled the rush to speak to the girl and her family, who may not have understood what they were getting themselves into, he said.
Nonetheless journalists have a responsibility to do their due diligence and to ensure their sources understand what鈥檚 at stake, particularly when dealing with children, he said.
鈥淭his was a perfect storm of circumstances,鈥� Dvorkin said.
鈥淎re we embarrassed for what the media did? Are we embarrassed for the child, which we should be? Are we embarrassed for the family that may not have understood the consequences of bringing their child out in that way?鈥� he asked.
鈥淭his is such a layered story about culture and鈥ournalism and the digital culture that drives all of this. It鈥檒l end up being, I think, a case study in journalism schools and in ethical studies.鈥�
A spokesman for the Toronto District School Board said the girl and her family were asked if they wanted to speak at Friday鈥檚 news conference, which was held at the girl鈥檚 school.
鈥淭he family members said they would speak to media and it was our understanding that this happened after, not before, they provided statements to police,鈥� Ryan Bird said in an email.
鈥淥ur motivation for commenting on the issue at the time was only out of compassion, care, concern and support 鈥� as did many elected leaders nationally, provincially and locally via interviews or social media.鈥�
Neither the girl nor her family have spoken publicly since police closed their investigation on Monday.
Paola Loriggio, The Canadian Press
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