Rejected petition Implement a ban on media reporting names of defendants in sexual offence cases.

I put it forward that media outlets should not be able to report the names of the accused in sexual offence cases prior to, or during any sexual offence trials. Names should only be reported in the media if ‘Guilty’ verdicts are returned.

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There have been too many instances where the accused have had their names tarnished, livelihoods ruined and reputations destroyed, even though they have received ‘Not Guilty’ verdicts. With media outlets reporting names of the accused, a stigma is immediately attached to the defendant which is extremely difficult to eradicate, regardless of the outcome of the verdict. This leads to trauma, depression and life-changing circumstances for those who have been falsely accused.

This petition was rejected

Why was this petition rejected?

There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.

You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.

You may wish to sign this petition calling for a similar action: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/577124

We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.

Date submitted 2 May 2021
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