The understandable public interest in the Phillips case has to be measured against one key fact: at the centre of this media storm are children who do not deserve to have their four-year ordeal turned into a spectacle for public consumption.
If the documentary progresses – both in terms of its production and eventual airing – it will do just that, putting public curiosity and interest above the recovery and wellbeing of the children affected.
Regardless of claims that the documentary will not identify or interview the children, they are undeniably at the heart of this situation, and will carry the impact of the stories told about this case for the rest of their lives.
Once released, this documentary will be part of a permanent digital footprint, over which these children or those caring for them will have no control. It is not a decision that most New Zealanders would accept for children in their own families, and it is not ethically and morally acceptable for the Phillips children. What they need most is dignity, privacy, and respect as they rebuild their lives.
Despite the purported focus on the Police operation, inevitably and unavoidably it will also be about the children – and it is naïve to think otherwise.
In no way does this take away from the outstanding work undertaken by the New Zealand Police in this challenging and unprecedented case. This would no doubt be evident in the documentary footage, but this is no-one else’s story to tell – including the New Zealand Police.
Formal reviews such as the coronial process and the IPCA investigation are important and required for accountability and future learning. But a documentary for public consumption, that has at its core the story of children who have lived through traumatic experiences,
serves no valid purpose when measured against the impact on those at the centre.
Ultimately this is the children’s story, and they have a right to never tell it, or tell it in their own time and on their own terms, should they choose to.
So here is the moral dilemma for all of us, do we blindly consume every reported detail of cases that prick our curiosity? Or do we call for and support media coverage that ensures these children (and those in future cases), are protected in the same way that we would all protect the children in our own families?
The ongoing development and eventual release of this documentary sets a dangerous precedent that allows the rights of children to have less weight than the public’s appetite for the story to be retold. No other interests should trump the wellbeing and protection of these
children. Surely that is the least we can give them.
Jane Searle
CEO, Child Matters
