Albania Sister and brother escaped home and were found begging

January 1, 2001

Comment: The article describes two siblings’ story on the streets of Albania. Children in street situation (even though they work on the street are still in contacts with the family and might thus have access to accommodation and food) are one of the most vulnerable group of children and at high risk of trafficking.

The story of two children escaping from home to beg in order to move to another town where they can earn more money, is discussed in the article as a usual, every day story. The journalist does not seek for the root causes or the consequences of the phenomena. The article contains no information about what happend to the children and what kind of assistance was provided for them.

This article has also a problematic approach related to the Ethical Code of Journalist because it gives information on children which leads easily to their identification and furthermore their stigmatization. The article reveals the name and the age of the children, and the name of their mother. By identifying the places they used to beg and emphasizing the fact that they stay all alone without any support, the journalist put those children in high risk.

In terms of the iconography, the picture is relevant to the subject of the article, and the child shown as an illustration could not be identified.

(This Press review is under the framework of EIDHR funded project, implemented jointly with the Legal Clinic for Minors, Albania)