by Charles Gladden
BELIZE CITY, Fri. Feb. 21, 2025
The National Commission for Families and Children (NCFC) hosted a media workshop on Friday, February 21, in Belize City, on the media’s key role in reporting accurate, child-friendly, and sensitive topics that affect children in the country.
As mentioned above, the workshop was used to bring together media members, law enforcement and child advocacy organizations to discuss best practices in reporting that align with ethical standards and community values. The media plays a pivotal role in shaping public perception and discourse.
The workshop highlighted key topics such as reporting child-sensitive and family-centered issues with care, maintaining accuracy while respecting privacy and dignity, and promoting responsible storytelling to benefit the wider Belizean community.
“We often discuss issues surrounding children, whether they are accused of committing a crime or they’re victims of crime. When it comes to children who come [into] conflict with the law, the media must be responsible enough not to publish the identity of these children because then, either way [we] take it, whether they are victims or offenders, it is going to bring some degree of embarrassment to them. I don’t think we should expose children to [such] things. So, I want to thank NCFC for even setting up this event,” said Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams.
During the session, the case of Devain Flores of Belize City, who was caught on camera repeatedly hitting his 3-year-old stepson on two separate occasions, was brought up for discussion.
“We cannot live in a society where our children are being abused, and the laws that are put in place to protect them are inadequate. To say that [to] prosecute a person for cruelty to a child, the child must be in the care or charge of the abuser, I don’t think it is right. If you abuse a child, if you are cruel to a child, it should not be dependent on whether the child is in your care or charge. It should be across the board, and so I would like to see that aspect of the law changed, as well as to make the penalty for persons who abuse children more severe than what it is now,” ComPol Williams said.
Amandala would like to note that all TV/radio and print media houses in Belize who were invited to the workshop were present; however, several online media sites which are known to often distribute inaccurate and unethical information declined to participate and were not present at the workshop.
Justice Antoinette Moore and Justice Natalie Creary Dixon gave presentations on the topic.