THE NEWS
The news followed one after another for weeks in the morning, afternoon and evening. Television news, live reports of the Commission's sessions, transcribed reports in direct speech, interviews with experts, opinion makers, official and professional entities, on all channels and in all newspapers. Numbers and statistics. The media made the issue fall into the street, feeding voyeurs and increasing the magnitude of the perverse effect on survivors.
The media exposure and discussion of abuse and trauma situations occurring within the church has been more than exhaustive. It has been abusive to survivors and family members, or those close to them.
There have been victims who have revealed the benefit of public and mediatized reporting in capitalizing on their ability to report and confirming that others who have gone through similar experiences were no longer alone.
But what about the pain of those who never got to (yet) talk about it? And they are the majority, held back by shame, guilt, fear of consequences, feelings of not being worthy of love, "damaged goods" exposed to the different gaze of those close to them and themselves. People who suffer in secret, whose family does not know or imagine what has happened to them, who feel compelled to disguise their nausea and pain, who are forced to listen to comments and opinions, who do not want to hear, exhaustive and detailed descriptions about the circumstances and situations that transport them without respect into their own distressing history. It increases anxiety, sadness, discouragement, nightmares and fear.
Media exploitation revictimizes, reactivates the signs of trauma, confronts the perpetrator, even if without a face. Even when victims decide not to watch any more news, the informational cascade invades their lives.
It is necessary to inform to make the population more alert and capable of defending themselves. Always inform them about who and where to turn to, reinforce that there is help, that there is hope. Maintain confidentiality, respect, and spare the discussion, comments, descriptions, and details, don't overdo it!
Psychiatrist, Professor at FMUP, Researcher at the Trauma Observatory/CES, Member of ESTSS
