Making Violence against Women (In)visible? Restrictions on Media Reporting of Intervention Orders

Journalists are often criticised for their reporting of violence against women (‘VAW’). Media coverage has been described as lacking in context, thus presenting VAW as individual incidents rather than as a social problem, as being over-reliant on police as sources, and generally distorting the reality of that violence. However, much of this criticism ignores the legal restrictions placed on the media. This article focuses on one such restriction, that contained in family violence intervention order legislation. It explores whether the reporting of intervention orders should be subject to any restrictions, especially in the context of reporting on intimate partner homicides (‘IPHs’). We conclude that there are good reasons to provide for restrictions on reporting, provided the subject of the order is able to give consent to publication of the information, but that the removal of the restriction in the context of IPHs would make a small, but important, contribution to increasing public understanding of such homicides and VAW.